The RWBY Chronicles: Team CLST
by MaleficKing
Summary: OC Team Insert. Follow the story of the four members of Team CLST (Celest) as they join Team RWBY and Team JNPR on their adventures throughout the world of Remnant. But what lurks behind the scenes? The only way to find out is to read through the story.
1. Crimson Trailer

**The following story is a fan-based fanfiction, RWBY is exclusively owned by Rooster Teeth. Please support the official release, trust me it's awesome.**

 **AN: Since I feel I am bad at descriptions, if there is an OC character, weapon, etc. I will post it on my Deviantart page, SuperSaiyanGodssj. I will put in the name of the page to look for through an Author's Note.**

 **EDIT:** **Changed the Theme song from "It's My Turn" to "Sacrifice".**

 **The** **RWBY** **Chronicles:**

 **Team** CLST

 **Crimson Trailer**

" _All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The real world only gives the tools needed to become who we are today."_

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 **(Mountain Glenn - RWBY Volume 2 Soundtrack)**

The sky was bathed in a brilliant gold as the morning sun rose over the horizon, bringing with it warmth and light. But unlike everywhere else, the darkness does not fade away with the night, this area is Mountain Glenn. A settlement for the creatures said to bring about mankind's destruction, the Creatures of Grimm.

All around the formation lay monsters of different types, Beowolves stalking prey, Nevermores sailing through the skies, and even mighty Goliaths trudging through the trees. To many on Remnant, this is the embodiment of hell, evidenced by the ruins of what was once Vale's attempt of expanding its kingdom.

 **(Music: 1:52)**

This doesn't stop a boy in his mid-teens from trudging towards the mountain, wearing a red shirt with grey sleeves that are adorned with red cross patterns, and black track pants with red stripes. He had spiked red hair, resembling the appearance of dragon horns as well as having attentive dark red eyes. To top it off, a black wing symbol with a red draconic eye is displayed on his shirt.

 **(AN: Deviantart Page Name, RWBY OC: Crimson Smau)**

He pulled out a damaged, but functional, Scroll and turned it on. When the Scroll's lock screen flashed on, an image showed up that revealed his name, Crimson.

The device beeped as it displayed a "No Service" message, Crimson merely sighed.

 **(Music Abrupt Stop)**

He calmly closed his eyes, turned it off, and slammed it into the nearest boulder. The Scroll instantly turned back on with full bars.

 **(RWBY – Sacrifice)**

He continued walking while looking at recent Newscasts, though the only ones worth reading were about a train robbery and a teenage girl stopping a gang of thugs. Eventually he reached a cave near the midsection of the mountain, inside were pieces of clothing, scraps of metal, and a burnt out fire pit. As Crimson was getting ready to lie down and rest, he heard a loud screech.

Sensing danger, he slowly left the cave and walked to where he heard the sound, making sure to check his surroundings. There was nothing to be found until he looked up. Three dark shapes were descending at a rapid pace from the sky towards Crimson. When they slowed to a stop they were revealed to be Griffons. To be more precise, two basic 6 footers and one 20 foot Alpha.

Crimson was curious, Griffons weren't normally seen this far West from Mantle. But he had no time to ponder as the Alpha let out a deathly cry. This triggered the other two beasts to charge towards Crimson but he remained completely still with a deathly calm expression on his face before giving himself a smirk.

 **(Music – 0:58)**

At the last second, Crimson jumped and used the Grimm in front of him as a springboard. As the Griffon turned its head to look at it's missed prey, it collided with the second Griffon. While they were tumbling over the ground, Crimson landed gracefully. He turned and pulled two cylinders from his sleeves which connected and unfolded into a black and silver scythe.

 **(AN: Deviantart Page Name, RWBY OC Weapon: Grimmlock)**

The Alpha Griffon roared in anger as it decided to do the job itself. Crimson stuck his scythe into a nearby boulder and swung it around as a club, breaking on contact with the demon's head as it stumbled off the cliff.

After seeing its leader injured, one of the Griffons took to the skies and attempted to dive bomb Crimson while his back was turned away. Before it had a chance to react, Crimson spun around and slashed with his scythe. This resulted in the Grimm having a separated upper and lower torso, as well as Crimson smirking at the second Griffon. With its companion already dead, it flew into the air for an aerial advantage. Despite his opponent being out of his reach, Crimson calmly reversed the grip on his weapon.

From his pocket, he pulled out a red Dust crystal and inserted it into one of several slots on the bottom of his scythe's staff. This resulted in the blades to be folded back and the spike to open up and revealing an open hole, also the wing symbol displayed on the top of the scythe shone an ominous red.

While the Griffon was curiously staring, a fire ball was launched out the hole, blasting it into a rock wall only without its head and most of its chest. As Crimson was about to relax himself, the Alpha flew back up from behind and tackled him into the air.

 **(Music – 1:37)**

In surprise, the only thing Crimson could do was flip around the Grimm and hold onto it's back as they ascended. By the time he could regain his composure, they were reaching the clouds. Crimson did the only thing he could think of, use his scythe to slice off the Griffon's wings. This resulted in both of them falling at an incredibly fast rate.

Crimson gave a determined look as he pulled out 4 more Dust crystals and loaded them into the scythe, his silhouette appeared in front of the shattered moon. His weapon transitioned into it's cannon mode as he aimed towards the sky and fired, causing him to not only increase his speed of descent, but also tackling the Griffon below him, making sure to avoid reach of it's sharp beak and flailing talons as they were both falling through the air.

He fired towards the sky one after another, increasing their speed until he only had one shot left. As they were nearing the ground, Crimson pointed his weapon at the Grimm and emptied his ammo. Recoiling him back into the air and launching the Alpha Grimm into the ground. Crimson landed back on the ground with his back towards the cliff as an explosion was heard down below.

 **(Music End – 2:08)**

After he put away his weapon, the sound of clapping came to his ears. As he turned towards the sound, an old man wearing a green suit and holding a cane walked towards him.

He uttered one question, "Crimson Smau, I presume?"

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Thank you reading!

Before you leave, I want to give thanks to my friend NuttyBuddy792 for Beta Reading this story.

This is MaleficKing, Signing Off.


	2. Lavender Trailer

" **The following is a fan-based fanfiction, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, please support the official release."**

" **For pictures of OC characters and weapons, check out my DeviantArt page, SuperSaiyanGodssj."**

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 **The** **RWBY** **Chronicles:**

 **Team CLST**

 **Lavender Trailer**

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" _To some, pride is a form of emotional protection. The key is to not let it control you for the cost always outweighs the benefit."_

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 **(Yugioh the Dark Side of Dimensions – Foreign Element)**

The moon shined brightly over Infren, a city located in the center of the Vacuo-Vale Continental Border. An area overrun with crime ever since the Great War, criminals of all kinds prowled the streets. A lone boy stood out from the normal scum, walking down an ally way listening to earbuds, quietly humming and moving rhythmically along to his music.

The clothing he wore was all colored a variation of purple, including a blazer styled jacket adorned with white flame patterns, jean pants, a strange box-shaped backpack strapped to his back, and even his eyes are a dark lavender. Only his black shirt and his curved, blonde spiky hair deviated from the purple theme.

 **(AN: Deviantart Page Name, RWBY OC: Laven Monsight)**

 **(Music End)**

"Yo Laven!" an obviously disgruntled voice called out, but Laven continued walking seemingly too absorbed in his music. That is until a shoe collided with the back of his head. Unable to ignore his irritants any longer, he whirled around to confront the men following him. About a dozen men wearing tattered clothes and armed with various blunt melee weapons, as well as some sheathed swords, were accosting him, which brought a smile to Laven's face. His smile grew even wider when he saw some of them were armed with only their fists.

"Hey there guys, it's been awhile. What's it today, social Sunday?" Laven inquired sarcastically, putting his fingers over his chin rather smugly. This caused the apparent leader of the group, as he was the only one wearing sunglasses, to scowl.

The man grunted, not amused by the boy's quip. "This isn't some weekend hangout; we have some business to take care of with you." Laven didn't quiver in fear or get angry like the man expected, but instead began squinting at the man, as if he were trying to remember who that man was.

"Hang on a minute, I know you. What was your name again? I think it was Jerry ... Mary … Harry …" The man was starting to become increasingly annoyed as evidenced by the deepening frown on his face. Finally his patience ran out and the man shouted, "Oh my god, IT'S BARRY!"

Laven snapped his fingers, grinning at the man's outburst. "Oh yeah right, I don't care. So what do you need fellas?" He said while raising his eyebrows mockingly.

The men decided they'd had enough and advanced, weapons at the ready. "Well we do have a pest to care of," one of them commented.

"Then I guess we better hurry this up, it's almost time for supper," Laven shot back as he stretched his arms out as if he were preparing to exercise.

 **(Jasan Radford – I'm Going Digital)**

One of the men rushed towards Laven, arm raised for a punch. At the last second, the boy spun around so that the fist landed on his backpack with a loud clang. Gripping his hand in pain from the impact, the man didn't see Laven's foot as the boy kicked him square in the face. He tumbled to land in front of Barry, who glared even more at his target. Laven decided to take off his backpack and had a smug expression on his face, as if everything was a game for him.

"Do you mind holding this for me?" he asked nonchalantly before tossing the pack towards a pair of incoming thugs. One of the unfortunate pair tried to catch the backpack then found himself flying backwards from the sheer weight of the innocent looking backpack, knocking over several of the goons on his way back. That man found himself pinned to the ground by the deceptively heavy backpack. Laven took advantage of the opportunity to open one of his sleeves, revealing a silver watch-like device. He proceeded to press two of the several buttons on that device.

 **(Music – 0:12)**

The top and the bottom of his backpack opened up, much to the surprise of the pinned grunt and two metal objects came flying out which wrapped around Laven's hands. With several whirrs and clicks, they transformed into purple gauntlets extending slightly beyond his wrists. Armed and ready, Laven smirked as he took up a typical boxing stance, maintaining his upright posture all the while.

The goons that weren't recoiling from the backpack toss readied their weapons and proceeded to charge towards the arrogant teen. Overconfident, they didn't expect Laven to merely dodge their swings. They certainly didn't expect him to be surgical in his counterattacks, using the opening given by their missed attacks to deliver a powerful blow. Any attempt to overwhelm Laven while he was dealing with one thug was blocked by his free hand, the gauntlet taking any blow with ease.

It was apparent that this boy was in a class of his own against this gang, since it only took a few swift blows from Laven to render each opponent unconscious. As he thrashed the last thug, he sighed. "Come on guys, I know you're not anything special, but I was expecting a better fight than this."

Laven failed to notice Barry throw a Fire Dust Grenade behind his back, which exploded upon contact with the ground, engulfing Laven in a gigantic fireball. Barry chuckled at the explosion, figuring that was the end for that annoying Laven.

 **(Music – 0:54)**

As quickly as he began laughing, Barry stopped when he saw the flames start to move in midair and change into a purple color, as if they had a mind of their own as it molded into the shape of a dragon with a serpentine body and wings. The dragon roared and flew right at Barry and the remained goons, exploding with an even greater ferocity than the grenade that had helped create the dragon. Laven walks out of the dying flames, untouched by the fire and looking very satisfied with the results of the brief melee, "Looks like you weren't so hot after all."

 **(Music End – 1:09)**

His satisfaction lasted all of two seconds, as there was an unfortunate crunch under his feet. Laven looked down and saw that his music player had fallen out of his pocket during the fight, surviving the conflict only to get stepped on by Laven. A look of anger and annoyance came over his face, "Son of a…"

His curse was interrupted by the sound of an aircraft, prompting him to look up to see a Bulkhead flying through the air. Standing in the opening of the Bulkhead was a woman with blond hair and glasses looking down at him, a riding crop in her hand.

She glared down at him and said, "There he is…"

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Huge thanks to my friend NuttyBuddy792 for Beta Reading this chapter.

This is MaleficKing, Signing Off.


	3. Silver Trailer

" **The following is a fan-based fanfiction, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, please support the official release."**

" **For pictures of OC characters and weapons, check out my DeviantArt page, SuperSaiyanGodssj."**

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 **The RWBY Chronicles:**

 **Team CLST**

 **Silver Trailer**

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" _You can choose to be one of two things in this world; a maiden who needs saving from a dragon, or you can be the dragon, for it is a dragon's heart that burns most fiercely, even in the face of pure evil."_

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 **(Iron- Within Temptation)**

 **Lodestar Academy Arena**

It was a simple arena at the bottom of the amphitheater. A grassy floor surrounded by a stone wall, several entrances into the arena carved into the stone wall. It was a sturdy wall, one that had withstood the many battles that had gone on within it. It had seen all sorts of bouts, weapons, Semblances, and creatures, and it was about to see one more. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds, brightening up the arena. Students and teachers alike sat in the stands, eager to watch the spectacle unfold. Another section of students watched, a mixture of exhaustion, relief, worry and for some few, satisfaction on their faces. This section of students had just gone through the rigors of the arena, battling the creatures of Grimm that were carefully released into the arena. It was the final exam here for the graduating class at Lodestar Academy, one of several combat schools scattered across Vale, and there was still one more student to take the test.

That student was currently walking down the tunnel towards the arena. She was a pretty young woman in her own right, not too curvy, but not too thin. She wore blue skinny jeans tucked into black calf-high combat boots and a silver tank top with a small darker silver draconic symbol on it, coupled with an azure-denim jacket with the sleeves cut off at the elbow. Adorned on her wrists were silver bracelets similar in appearance to scales along with grey gloves. Several white Dust rounds could be seen stashed in pockets within the jacket, and two batons could be seen attached to her thighs, a definitive curve near the top part of the batons. She paused near the entrance, taking a moment to make sure her long brown hair was secure in its low ponytail. She touched the tips of her bangs, the last few inches dyed a silver color.

 **(AN: Deviantart Page Name, RWBY OC: Dani Silva)**

"You can do this," she told herself, "You have to ace this exam if you want to get into Beacon. So just go out there and do your thing." She tightened her silver fingerless gloves on her hands, making sure everything was ready. She had all the preparations complete. Her weapon was full of ammo, thanks to the school's Dust supply. She had gotten a good night's sleep and eaten a hearty breakfast, so physically she was also ready. The mental portion was the one thing she was currently struggling with.

A voice boomed out across the arena, catching the attention of everyone in the arena. "Dani Silva, please enter the arena for your final exam!"

Dani took a deep breath, trying to steady her frayed nerves and closed her bright blue eyes. This was her only chance. She couldn't afford to mess up. She took one more deep breath, held it, and let it out. No more waiting. No more studying. No more practice. Now it was time for her to show them what she was made of. She opened her eyes, her Aura causing them to flash silver ever so briefly. "Let's do this!" She sprinted out of the tunnel and into the arena, greeted by polite applause and cheers from her classmates. They all knew what this meant for each other, and some had cracked under the pressure. Those that had cracked were a lot more subdued than those that had succeeded, but they still supported their classmate.

 **(Iron-Within Temptation: 1:16)**

She didn't hear the announcer explaining the rules of the combat and the safety precautions taken to prevent any fatalities. She knew them already by heart. For four years, she had watched this exam and for four years, she had been preparing herself to take on whatever Grimm they were going to throw her way. Dani grasped both the batons, activating her weapon. The curves on the batons suddenly snapped outwards, blades forming until the young Huntress-in-training held twin halberds in her hands, ax heads shaped like the wings of a legendary dragon of old. She knew her weapon well, having forged it with her own two hands. Inspired by her father's old weapon, she had named it Agjotr Spitfyre. Dani was certain that her father would have been proud.

She took up a combat stance, one halberd held above her head in a guard position while the other was pointed outwards. The door she was facing slowly rose, agonizingly slow for Dani. She peered into the shadows, wondering what Grimm they were going to use as a test. Perhaps an Ursa, those were common enough, or a Boarbatusk. A hiss came from the shadows, getting her attention. Maybe it was one of those Creeps.

"Ohh crapbaskets," Dani groaned as the Grimm slithered out. It was a King Taijitu, both white end and black end 10 feet in length. Its thick coils wereabout 2 feet in diameter by Dani's estimation. It wasn't the size of the Grimm that froze Dani, but the fact that it was a King Taijitu was enough to make her pause. She wasn't 17 anymore, but a mere 9 years old, listening in on the conversation that she shouldn't have between her mother and a bearer of very bad news. She shivered as she remembered the cold that had permeated the house that day. Dani could still hear the man's grave tone in her mind delivering the news that would change her life forever.

So paralyzing was the flashback that Dani didn't even notice the Grimm approaching her until she found herself rammed by the black head, jolting her rudely out of her reverie as she was launched flying back towards the arena wall. This was quite obviously not the time to walk down memory lane.

 **(Iron- Within Temptation, 3:26)**

Flipping in midair, Dani landed feet first onto the wall, reducing her impact by bending her knees before dropping to the ground, landing gracefully. Not the best way to start out a final exam. She pointed her halberds at the Grimm and squeezed the triggers. Quick bursts of blue shot spat out of them, sparking and crackling with electricity as they hit the did nothing to slow down the Grimm, instead it only seemed to irritate it. Hissing, the creature of darkness moved quickly for a being of its size and began to slither around Dani, its thick coils building a wall of black and white scales in an attempt to trap its victim.

But Dani was no mere victim. She slashed at the coils, getting a hiss of pain from the Taijitu and preventing the Grimm from constricting her. In the brief pause as the Taijitu fought through the pain Dani leapt into the air, firing her halberds downwards to give her that extra bit of upward thrust she needed to get out of the coils of the Grimm.

The white head of the King Taijitu had other ideas. As soon as Dani popped out of the coils, the head was there to try and take a bite out of her. She twisted in midair, kicking out and knocking itaway from her body as she landed on top of the coils. The Grimm's body bucked, throwing Dani into the air once more and the black head was there to slam into her again. She hit the ground hard, rolling a couple of times before catching herself and skidding to a halt. The snake-like Grimm approached, a little wary given that its prey had already stung it a couple of times. Still, it was going to finish this pest and then move on to the rest of the crowd. Even though it had been captured, it had still been feeding off of the stressful emotions caused by finals week and was eager to feast even more.

Dani saw the hunger in the Grimm's eyes. She knew what it was going to try to do. She wasn't going to let what happened to her father happen to her. She didn't care if there were professional Huntsmen and Huntresses in the crowd that would stop the fight if it was too much for her. She was going to end this creature of Grimm right here. The Huntress-in-training let out a small growl as she felt the rush of the battle. Dani felt the anger inside of her, the grief, the sadness, the hatred for what this species of Grimm had done to her life well up inside of her and she let her fury grow within, fueling her. She could see red around the edges of her vision, but she didn't care.

The King Taijitu stopped, sensing her rage. It realized that this could be a more difficult fight than anticipated. Dani stepped forward, touching the end of the hilts of her dual halberds together. With a whir and a click, the duel halberds combined into a halberd staff, which Dani twirled a couple of times before she crouched, her weapon held in her right hand behind her back.

With a war cry, she sprinted forward towards the Grimm, avoiding the strike of the black head by jumping over it as Dani charged the white head. Spinning her halberd staff, she knocked the head around with a swift one-two-three slash, stunning the head enough for her to flip and deliver a punishing ax-kick to the snake-like Grimm, slamming the white head into the ground. Dani followed it to the ground, coming down with a mighty swing of her halberd staff that cut off the white head of the King Taijitu.

Dani turned around just in time to see the black coils of the other half of the Taijitu encircle her once more, squeezing tightly as the Huntress-in-training dropped Agjotr Spitfyre, both out of surprise of the swiftness that the Grimm had constricted her and in an effort to avoid getting cut by her own weapon. The black coils had her entire body covered except for her right arm and her head and were beginning to squeeze tightly. There were murmurs from the crowd and several of the Huntsmen in the crowd were standing up, preparing to interfere.

Dani ignored the crowd. She ignored everything except for the creature holding her tightly. This was not how she was going to go down. Dani locked eyes with the black head of the Taijitu, glaring at the Grimm. She still had a couple of tricks up her sleeve. Ignoring the pain as the air was slowly squeezed out of her lungs; she concentrated while her eyes started to flash with silver outlines. A ball of light appeared in her outstretched hand, getting the attention of the Grimm. Holding it in front of her, Dani grinned as she clenched her hand into a fist, causing the ball of light that had appeared there to explode outwards in a flash of light as bright as the sun, blinding the Grimm. It hissed in agony and its coils slackened ever so slightly, enough for Dani to pull herself out of the coils of the mighty serpent and drop to the ground. She sprinted over to her weapon, grabbing it off the ground and switching Spitfyre over to its final form.

The staff began to fold up, shifting, rearranging itself into a draconian assault rifle. Dani began to concentrate, letting her Aura flow into her weapon. No point in holding back any more. Time to show everyone just how powerful she really was. She flicked a small switch on her rifle, allowing both types of Dust she preferred using in her weapon to be used at the same time. As she finished preparations for her ultimate attack, the King Taijitu's eyesight finally returned, allowing the Grimm to charge right at Dani. She glared at the onrushing snake, waiting for the right moment. The creature of darkness opened its jaw wide, revealing several fangs within.

"Go time," Dani said to herself and jumped into the Taijitu's mouth. She could barely hear the cries of surprise from the crowd, as she pointed her weapon down the throat of the Grimm and fired a powerful white laser down the Taijitu's maw, using the recoil of her powerful blast to exit the snake-demon's mouth as quickly as she had entered. The jaw of the dying Grimm snapping shut, catching her left boot and yanking it off of her leg. Dani landed on the ground in front of the Taijitu, the black head thudding down behind her. She faltered, falling to a knee as the drain on her Aura from using that attack made her light-headed for a brief moment, then straightened up in an attempt to catch her breath. The applause from the crowd registered dimly in her ears as she turned around and grabbed her boot from the dissolving body of the Grimm, rolling her eyes as she began to put it back on.

 **(Music End)**

As she finished lacing up her boot, a man's voice reached her ears, rising above the din of the crowd. "Bravo Miss Silva, bravo!" Dani straightened to see a middle-aged man wearing a burgundy suit with gold buttons and sporting an impressive gray mustache walking towards her. "A fine display indeed!"

Up in the stands and leaning against the wall near the exit, a young man with long dark hair in a brown trench coat and wearing a fedora smirked when he saw the Grimm fall. He wasn't surprised by the outcome, nor did his green eyes show any emotion when he saw the professor approaching Dani. "Well well, looks like the Maiden with Eyes of Blue is going to Beacon. Just don't expect it to be anything like Lodestar." With that, he turned and strode off, a katana strapped to his waist. His second year at Beacon was certainly going to be interesting.

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I would like to give a huge amount of thanks to my friend NuttyBuddy792, who not only let me use the character Dani, but also wrote this chapter with me giving some edits.

MaleficKing signing off.


	4. Teal Trailer

**It's finally the day for the premiere of RWBY Volume 4 so, in celebration, I have finally finished the final trailer.**

" **The following is a fan-based fanfiction, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, please support the official release."**

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 **The RWBY Chronicles:**

 **Team** **CLST**

 **Teal Trailer**

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" _Time is an everlasting force, never being able to be halted. The day that force is stalled is when eternity itself is no more."_

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 **(Dragon Ball Super OST Relaxing Beerus)**

 **Forever Fall**

Leaves flew from the trees through the sky, covering the landscape with their brilliant red color. The sky reflected the very same colors as the treetops of the forest, creating another spectacular view as the sun made its way towards the horizon. A flower budded with yellow petals is shown growing out of a patch of grass, soaking in the sun's evening rays.

The serene setting was broken by the foul-mouthed exclamation of an irate teenager. **"** Are you fucking kidding me?!"

 **(AN: Deviantart Page Name, RWBY OC: Teal Dial)**

The unfortunate flower was crushed by the black sneaker of a teenage boy walking through the woods, hopelessly, painfully lost. He wore a black shirt with a dark blue jacket, adorned with a long white scarf wrapped around his neck as well as a brown pair of jeans wrapped with a belt containing a holster. His hair was a dark shade of brown and was stylized in a spiked forward style, reaching his blue eyes in the form of bangs. The hair around his left eye was dyed a teal color. His personal symbol was displayed on his shirt, a blue hourglass contained within a clock face with a yellow draconic foot forming the background.

"Of course I would get lost the day I have to go to Beacon. Good work Teal, how will you survive after graduation when you can't read a **fucking** compass." The boy, Teal, complained as he pulled out a cracked Scroll and powered it up.

"Siri, give me directions for Beacon Academy." The machine beeped in acknowledgement and displayed a screen directing him to walk 10 miles west. Teal grinned as he began to walk along the path laid out for him by his Scroll. "OK now we're getting somewher-…."

 **(Music End)**

He interrupted himself as Teal realized he was about to walk right off a cliff. With an exasperated sigh of frustration, Teal threw the Scroll off the aforementioned cliff, watching it sail off into the woods below and hoping he would never see that Scroll again.

"Piece of junk, knew I should have upgraded to the newest model. It's pretty much the same thing but at the very least I would have gotten a bigger screen." As he retraced his steps to find a way down, an ominous vibration emanated from the ground, a loud thumping noise his only other warning.

Teal started to look around until he spotted the source of the disturbance. A large gorilla-like Grimm, better known as a Beringel, came flying out of the foliage and slammed onto the ground, its single glowing eye glaring at Teal as it sized up its prey. The Grimm growled in anticipation, savoring the negative emotions rolling off the teenager.

Teal sighed again in irritation, facepalming rather dramatically and muttering, "And now I have to deal with **this** asshole." He brightened up rather quickly, sending a crazed grin towards the Grimm. "Whatever, I've got a minute and a half to spare. Hit the music!"

 **(Kyouran Hey Kids! Natewantstobattle Cover)**

He pulled out a brown pistol with bladed edges around it and quickly fired a round onto the Grimm, which did nothing but irritate it as bullet merely bounced off of a thick layer of white skeletal armor.

While it did no damage, the shot did anger the Beringel enough to charge towards Teal, swinging its large arms in an effort to crush its prey. Teal merely dodged the attacks nonchalantly, faking a yawn as the gorilla-like Grimm swung so hard it over-balanced. Teal stepped to the side, letting the Beringel fall in an unsightly heap. Recovering quickly, the monster swung once more, a wide swinging hook that left it open to counterattack. Seizing the opportunity, Teal leaped onto the incoming arm and used as a springboard to leap over the Grimm's head.

He pulled out his pistol again and started to fire at his target's head but was knocked away by a deceptively fast backswing from the Grimm. Teal was able to grab onto the branch of a tree in order to catch himself but had no time to recover, as the Beringel was on him instantly, smashing through the tree Teal had used to catch himself as the teen leaped to another nearby tree.

He continued this routine a few times, the enraged roar of the gorilla-like Grimm bringing a smirk to his face before he flipped his gun into the air, causing it to shift into a sword with a hooked blade and grey outlines. Teal used his blade to slice through several branches, catching them in one smooth motion and throwing them towards the ape.

 **(AN: Deviantart Page Name, RWBY OC Weapon: Temporal Shift)**

 **(Music 0:46)**

As the Beringel was distracted by the unexpected projectiles, Teal leaped onto the Grimm's back and hooked his blade into its eye, producing a howl of agony from the blinded Beringel. It then started to thrash around to try and get Teal off its back. Unable to see, the monster stumbled about and crashed through several trees, which had the unintended benefit of forcing Teal to leap for safety. He landed by the edge of the cliff, the very same cliff where he had thrown his Scroll away and narrowly avoided following his Scroll to the forest down below. Teal grinned wickedly as he glanced down the cliff side before glancing back at the Grimm still thrashing about.

"Hey, Bantu the baboon, or whatever dead monkey you are," Teal shouted, tossing a rock at the Beringel to get its attention. "What's it like being overrated and overused?" While the Grimm didn't get the gist of Teal's taunts, it still had a lock on his location thanks to its sensitive hearing. With a howl of pure rage, the Beringel charged, arms out wide in an attempt to ensnare its prey. Teal grinned before his eyes flashed a brighter blue and he pointed his weapon at the monster, the outlines of the weapon glowing blue as it resonated with his Aura. Teal spoke a single word, but it resonated with power.

 **(Music 1:13)**

" _Accelerate_!"

The Beringel became cloaked in a blue aura as its speed started to rapidly increase, becoming a blur to the naked eye its limbs were moving so fast. Teal dove to the side at the last possible millisecond, allowing the blind Grimm to run right off the cliff, plummeting to its doom. Teal climbed back to his feet, feeling very satisfied as he looked down towards the side of the cliff and saluted, "Goodnight sweet meme and may swarms of internet trolls spam thee to thy rest."

 **(Music End)**

He relaxed for a second before he took stock of his bearings, once again lost and confused. "That was fun and all, now where the hell do I go?"

"Well you seem to be in a bit of a bind why don't you just follow me young man!" a voice spoke in a fast and slightly sophisticated manner. Teal quickly turned around saw a grown man with green hair and safari based clothing smiling at him.

* * *

 **As always, a huge thanks to my friend NuttyBuddy792 for Beta Reading this story. Now it's time to finally start working on the official story, see you in Chapter 1: The New Age.**

 **MaleficKing, Signing Off.**


	5. Chapter 1: The New Age

" **The following is a fan-based fanfiction, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, please support the official release."**

* * *

 _ **(The Day – NateWantsToBattle English Cover)**_

Silhouettes of each member of Team CLST appear, their Auras glowing with their respective colors as they hold out their weapons. Their emblems appear behind to him.

 **(0:10)**

Pillars of energy erupt from their silhouettes, taking on the shape of dragons before they collide into each other. This forms the title of the story, RWBY

 **(0:26)**

A stream of rose petals is seen floating in the wind towards the peak of Mountain Glenn. The petals turn into the shape of an 'R' while Crimson watches on the mountain.

 **(0:31)**

The moon shines brightly over the city of Infern. While Laven is walking down an alleyway as he stops to see a piece of ice turn into a 'W'.

 **(0:36)**

Inside of dark cave, Dani sits with her knees to her chest while looking at a silver locket. As she uses her Semblance to light the area, she looks over to see some shadows form into a 'B'.

 **(0:41)**

Teal is standing in front of a campfire in Forever Fall, looking curiously at 'Y'-shaped embers flaring out of it.

 **(0:46)**

The silhouette of a golden eyed woman stares at Grimm rising out of the shadows under a red lunar eclipse.

 **(0:51)**

Across from her is Ozpin in front of Beacon tower with four feminine silhouettes behind him, those silhouettes glow white, purple, green, and yellow.

Team CLST walks in front of Team RWBY, Crimson and Ruby giving each other a smirk.

 **(1:02)**

Teal uses Temporal Shift's scimitar form to deflect several punches from Yang, both them smiling with excitement. Behind them, Blake and Dani are seen trading slashes with their own weapons.

Weiss uses her glyphs to erupt pillars of ice around her while Laven breaks through them. Nearby Crimson and Ruby are clashing their scythes together, both still retaining their smirks.

 **(1:12)**

The location is revealed to be the Combat Training room as Team JNPR watches them on a set of bleachers, complete with popcorn and drinks. Sitting next to them are Team CFVY and CRDL, also enjoying the fight.

The match is shown being monitored on the screen of a Scroll, Ozpin being the one watching it from his office. He looks over towards Mountain Glenn as the sun rises behind it.

 **(Song End)**

* * *

The RWBY Chronicles:

Team **CLST**

Chapter 1 – The New Age

* * *

 **Headmaster's Office, Beacon Academy**

In the late hours of the night, an older man exited an elevator and stepped inside a dark chamber. As moonlight seeped through the clouds, several giant gears could be seen through transparent glass on both the floor and the ceiling, rotating like clockwork. Behind a desk in the room sat a revolving chair, beside which stood a well-dressed woman with blond hair holding an active scroll.

The woman noted the man's entrance and spoke aloud, "Headmaster?" The light from the moon shone to reveal a familiar old man, Ozpin.

"Did you find them Glynda?" Ozpin inquired, striding forward to sit in his chair.

"Indeed," Glynda Goodwitch replied curtly. "All of them are accounted for. I assume things went well with Mr. Smau?"

Ozpin sighed and took a sip from a mug of coffee that laid on the desk before him, "It took quite a bit of time to find him and a lot of coaxing but yes, I did manage to convince him." A brief silence fell over the pair, the only sounds coming from the rotating gears and the occasional sip of coffee.

Glynda decided to break the silence, voicing her opinion, "I still don't see why we have to take them in, I could understand your reasoning for Ms. Rose but they're far too reckless."

Ozpin chuckled, "That's why we need to teach them discipline, they are still children after all. But they do have a hidden potential that could be useful in the near future." He shifted his eyes out the window overlooking the vast territory of Vale and Beacon Academy and sighed. "A potential I fear we will need sooner than we think."

* * *

 **Beacon Courtyard, the next afternoon**

 _ **Crimson**_

Crimson Smau stepped off the Bulkhead that had brought him here to Beacon Academy, and onto the concrete. Looking up, he was in awe at the sight of Beacon Tower as the sun shined behind it. While its size wasn't even close to Mountain Glenn, it made up for that in its complex structure. Despite Crimson's amazement he maintained a stoic expression, as living near Grimm nearly 24/7 does teach one how to hide their emotions from those creatures of darkness. It was second nature to him by now.

Pressing onwards towards the school, Crimson reflected on the decision he'd made earlier that morning. He still had a sense of surprise when, after a battle with some migrating Griffons, an old man had appeared with detailed knowledge of who Crimson was. Growing up in what could only be described as Grimm territory, few people were aware that Crimson even existed, much less who he was. When that man, who identified himself as Ozpin, asked him to attend his school, the illustrious Beacon Academy, Crimson had been determined to refuse the man's proposition, it felt wrong to leave the mountain he had lived on for so long. However, Crimson couldn't help but feel curious when Ozpin started talking about-….

 **KA-BOOM!**

Crimson was instantly alert, one hand on his weapon, which was currently tucked safely behind his back, looking around for whatever threat that was responsible for the explosion. He relaxed when he noticed it was two girls off to his right. One of them was dressed in black clothing adorned with red highlights along with a long red cloak. Crimson was mildly amused that he wasn't the only one here with a taste for capes. The other girl, however, wore blinding white attire with various blues situated throughout her dress. It hurt Crimson's eyes just to glance at that bright clothing.

Deciding against getting involved, Crimson made to leave the scene, not wanting to draw attention to himself like that explosion would for those two girls, and then the white one opened her mouth. That snooty tone, the piercing sound of that girl's voice really irritated Crimson for whatever reason and, despite his better judgment, found himself striding towards the two girls.

"You complete dolt!" the white girl was shouting at the girl in the red hood. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Hey!" Both girls turned to face Crimson as he approached. Now that he had their attention, he continued, "Some of us are trying to have a nice day and your racket is ruining that!"

The girl in white gave him a glare that she probably figured would put Crimson in his place. If only she knew. "Don't blame me for this klutz's mistakes, I was merely giving her the proper scolding she deserves."

The other looked down with an apologetic look on her face, but Crimson's full attention was on this brat in front of him. "Does it look like I care? Whatever happened is done, so just get over it."

This girl in white seemed to tremble in rage, taking great offense to what Crimson thought was a straightforward statement. "How dare you! Do you know who you're talking to!? I am Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company!"

Crimson rolled his eyes in annoyance before retorting, "I was going to guess a brat who doesn't know how to shut up, since all you've done is complain. Now I'm sure both of us just want to end this conversation, go on with our lives, and never see each other again right?"

Crimson swore he thought he saw a vein bulge on her forehead in anger, but instead of continuing some angry tantrum like he was expecting, Weiss just turned around, snatched up the scattered bottles of Dust and walked away, letting her two butlers tend to the remainder of her luggage. Crimson let out a sigh of relief, as he figured some snooty rich girl like her would've kept that up for much longer but it seemed to him that she wasn't a complete idiot like he assumed most rich people were. The situation defused, Crimson began to walk. Where, he wasn't entirely sure, preoccupied with regaining his train of thought. It was something that Ozpin had said-…

"Hey there."

Once again Crimson's train of thought was derailed when the girl with the red hood walked up to him. "Oh joy, another one," he groaned under his breath. She had nervous smile on her face and didn't look at Crimson's face, a sign to Crimson that she wasn't the most eloquent of students here, but again, he was hardly one to talk.

Still, with her standing right next to him, Crimson was able to take in more details. Her hair was an almost black shade of red which grew lighter towards the end of her hair strands and she wore a belt that was decorated with a rose emblem along with several bullet casings. But her most prominent features were definitely her silver eyes. Crimson had never heard of that color being possible but outdated books could only tell so much, the few that he'd had growing up on Mountain Glenn.

His evaluation of her was cut off when Crimson became aware of a peculiar sensation from his body. He felt his heartrate elevate, adrenaline pumped through his veins, and his head started going fuzzy. He knew that there wasn't any danger besides that explosion, so why were his senses going crazy? He took a second to internally compose himself as the girl, who did look rather young for one attending Beacon Academy, spoke to him.

"I wanted to thank you for helping me out back there. I made a few accidents that made her really mad and I kept trying to apologize but she wouldn't let me. I don't think I would have gotten out of the situation without snapping." She gave a nervous laugh before reaching out for a handshake, "Sorry I'm getting ahead of myself, I'm Ruby Rose."

Not sure how to properly respond, Crimson just shook her hand and replied, "Crimson Smau." He seemed to have gotten a handle on his wayward senses for now, though he could still feel it lingering. Was the prospect of actual school getting to him? Or was it interacting with someone close to his age for the first time in a long time? Or perhaps it was him being too set in his loner ways. Regardless of the reason, he resolved to keep a tighter control over his emotions.

They continued along the walkway in silence. Crimson wondered why she was walking with him, and was even more perplexed that he hadn't told her to scram yet. He was a loner at heart. _'Then again,"_ the young man thought, glancing at Ruby. _'I suppose it's not unreasonable to interact with at least one person.'_

With that in mind, Crimson decided to make an attempt at conservation, "So how exactly does one cause an explosion to happen right outside of a school? Wouldn't Ozpin have set up some safety guidelines or something?"

She giggled nervously and scratched the back of her head before answering in a rushed tone, "Well you see, while that girl was yelling at me, she was waving around a vial of Dust and the Dust was flying everywhere and I just had to sneeze and that ignited it and well, sneeze equals boom." She smiled once more before a look of worry came over her face. "Just don't call me Crater Face, ok?"

Crimson was still shocked by the idea that a mere sneeze could trigger Dust's inherent powers. He had always thought that one needed some sort of fire or lightning based Semblance to trigger the spark that ignited Dust, but a mere sneeze? Either Ruby was more powerful than she let on, or Crimson was severely underestimating how fragile Dust was. He then started thinking that carrying raw dust in his pockets was probably a bad idea. Looking down at Ruby and seeing that she expected a response, Crimson realized he should've been paying a bit more attention to that last part. "Sure, whatever you say."

And once again, awkward silence. Crimson figured he'd made an effort, can't say he was disappointed with the results. Time to say farewell and get a move on in life. But before he could even begin the separation, Ruby broke the silence. "So, I got this thing." That "thing" proved to be a giant black and red metallic scythe, longer than she was tall. That was an unexpected pleasure for Crimson. From what he had read, scythe wielders were rare due to the weapon's complex fighting style, but that hadn't stopped Crimson from making one of his own.

Crimson chuckled as he pulled out his own scythe, _Grimmlock,_ and unfolded it for her to see. Her facial expression immediately changed from awkward nervousness to sheer excitement. "You have a scythe too!? That's so awesome! I never thought I would meet someone else who uses one, besides my Uncle Qrow of course. He taught me how to use this, by the way. But even if I did meet one, I wasn't expecting to on my first day at Beacon! Oh I hope we're on a team together so that we can show everyone how awesome scythes are!"

Crimson was caught off guard by the sheer enthusiasm she displayed as she continued on about scythes. All he had done was brought out his weapon since she had brought hers out. Looking at her scythe, he noted how much more complex it looked compared to his. He'd cobbled his together out of necessity out of what spare parts he could find on Mountain Glenn, while hers was practically state of the art. Still, while it looked nice, Crimson wasn't sure how it'd hold up in combat. As one of his books had said, _'I'd rather have an ugly weapon I can rely on than a pretty weapon that can't handle the rigors of war.'_

About midway through going over the details of how her scythe was also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle, Ruby seemed to realize she was rambling and caught herself. "Sorry, I'm kind of dork when it comes to weapons. I just can't help but love them, they're much better to deal with than people. Not that you're hard to deal with or anything, I'm just speaking in general and I should properly shut up now." She glanced down, still holding her scythe in her hands and managing to look, as any bystander would describe as, both adorable and dangerous simultaneously.

Crimson decided to take the opportunity to finally get a word in, "Did you make your scythe too? Seems like it took a lot of time."

Ruby perked up again, now that the subject was back to her weapon, "Of course I did. _Crescent Rose_ sure took a lot of time to make but now I can't live without my sweetheart right near me. Didn't you make yours too? I thought all combat schools had you forge your own weapons."

Crimson scoffed, "Whoever said I went to a combat school. Everything I know I taught myself."

Her response was a small laugh before returning her aforementioned _Crescent Rose_ back into its compact form, which prompted Crimson to also chuckle before disabling _Grimmlock_. Ruby suddenly stopped and looked around before saying, "Hey do you know where we're going?"

* * *

 _ **Lavender**_

"Well things sure are cleaner around here."

Laven Monsight couldn't help but say that to himself as he made his way towards Beacon. It was definitely a much more tidy environment than Infern was, but that wasn't exactly a hard feat to accomplish. Laven was pretty sure a snowstorm in Atlas would be more sanitary than that place. He'd leapt at the opportunity that woman had given him, Goodwitch if he remembered correctly, to come to Beacon and couldn't wait to see what kind of devices lay in store for him to tinker with.

Hearing a retching sound, Laven turned and saw a guy vomiting into a trashcan, probably from motion sickness. The techno-genius decided to be a good Samaritan and strode over to the poor fellow, seeing what he could do to help. It seemed that he was done emptying the contents of his stomach, so Laven decided to strike up a conversation, to take his mind off of things.

Laven put a hand on the guy's shoulder and asked, "You okay dude? You looked like you were going to be sick all day." A bit of hyperbole should set a cheerful mood.

The guy put on a small, albeit forced, smile and gave Laven a thumbs-up, "Don't worry about me, it's just the first time I've ever flown in one of those things. It probably won't be the last time either."

Well good, he seems to be recovering quickly. Looking closely at him, Laven noticed he had blonde, scraggly hair as well as bright blue eyes. His outfit was a bit more basic than one would traditionally have, simply having a hoodie and jeans with an undersized breast plate and two shoulder guards making up his armor.

Laven held out a hand to shake, "My name's Laven, Laven Monsight to be precise."

His new companion suddenly puffed out his chest and straightened his back as he declared, "The name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, and rolls of the tongue. Ladies love it." He then took Laven's hand and shook it vigorously before he looked down. "At least, I hope they like it."

' _Well isn't he confident. If getting a girl to like you was that easy, I'm sure I would have had several girlfriends right now.'_ Laven thought to himself. Out loud, he said "Sure they do, I bet they also love how blonde your hair is. But then again, ladies love a natural blonde." He couldn't resist stroking his own ego, it just made everything feel right in the world to him. Looking down, Laven noticed a sword sheathed on Jaunes's hip, although it seems oddly….basic. He figured it was probably just to disguise whatever amazing weapon it turned out to be.

"Hey," Jaune protested weakly, "I'm a natural blonde too."

The techno wiz rolled his eyes and gestured towards Jaune's sword. "So I'm assuming you're a swordsman of some kind, am I right?"

Jaune put on a smirk as he dramatically pulled out his weapon to reveal it to be...a sword. No projectile attachments or even any technological equipment. Just a plain sword. Rather anticlimactic given what Laven had been imagining. "You like it? My family passed it down to me after my great, great grandfather used it in the Great War. What do you have?"

It took every fiber in Laven's being not say anything insulting to him. He knew using the classics can be sort of cool, but it was so out of style. He was certain that in an evening he could come up with a half-dozen upgrades that would make his sword that much better. Moving on, Laven turned and showed Jaune his pack. "This right here is my trusty backpack, _No Space_. Couldn't ask for a better weapon."

Jaune scratched the back of his head in confusion before asking, " _No Space_? Why would you call it that?"

Instead of saying anything, Laven just smiled innocently and handed him _No Space_. As soon as it left Laven's hands, Jaune was pulled to the ground by the pack's enormous weight. Laven couldn't help but laugh at the comical sight as he explained, "I call it that because there is so much equipment in it that there is literally no space for anything."

Laven helped Jaune back to his feet, reliving the blonde of his own heavy backpack and put _No Space_ back on. He was a little surprised that Jaune wasn't angry at him for making him look like an absolute fool and even more surprised when Jaune started laughing. "I never would have expected someone using a backpack as a weapon, this school must be full of surprises," Jaune said after his laughter had subsided.

"Oh trust me, there's more than meets the eye when it comes to a lot of things, not just school," Laven said as the two began walking towards the main building. "Especially the girls."

* * *

 _ **Silver**_

"Today has finally come," Dani Silva said with a sigh. "It's almost unbelievable." It had taken many years of training and a lot of determination but now she had finally made it to Beacon Academy, where she could finally become a true Huntress, just like her father would have wanted. She'd been extremely disappointed that her old friend and de facto rival Gwyn and his team were going to Haven Academy for their second year, some sort of foreign exchange program if she had heard correctly, but with the annual Vytal Festival coming to Vale soon, Dani figured she'd see Gwyn soon enough. She couldn't wait for the Festival, as now she'd finally get a chance to be in it, rather than just watch it on TV. A sudden realization interrupted her thoughts as she glanced around the courtyard. "Where am I supposed to go?"

She'd been told to head for the amphitheater, but had neglected to ask where the amphitheater was. She'd figured it'd be in the first large building she'd find, but what Dani hadn't counted on was one, the size of the campus and two that there was more than one large building on campus. In one direction was the awe-inspiring Beacon Tower, and in another direction was a large domed shaped building. She could see other buildings, not quite as impressive as Beacon Tower but still plenty big, further off in the distance. Probably dorms, if she had to guess. Still, without knowing which building housed what, Dani was lost. She glanced around, hoping someone could help her with directions. Then her bright blue eyes caught someone sitting on a nearby bench and Dani figured it'd be best to start with her.

It was a girl dressed almost entirely in black and white clothing, the only item deviating from the monochromatic theme was her purple stockings and her oddly glowing golden eyes. They looked pretty cool, Dani figured, probably related to her Semblance if the young Huntress-in-training had to guess, because they didn't seem entirely human. She was also wearing a black bow atop of her black hair that made it look like she had cat ears. Dani liked cats as well, but she didn't see any need to put it out there for all to see. To each their own though.

As Dani approached, she noticed that the girl was reading a book by the name of _Millennium Shadows._ That was one of her favorite books, and it gave her the perfect icebreaker so as not to seem completely lost on the first day at Beacon. She gave a small wave to get the girl's attention and said, "Hey I know that book, it's about a kid that finds an ancient treasure with a spirit inside right?"

She looked up at Dani, finally noticing her. She glanced over the top of the book, eyes taking in the sight of Dani, betraying no emotion. "Yes it is, you've read it before?" Her voice sounded mildly intrigued.

Dani grinned. "Oh yeah, loads of times. It's still one of my favorite books. I like the sequels too, although they're kinda iffy at times."

The girl smirked and said, "Glad to meet someone else who shares my opinion."

There was the sound of an explosion in the distance, which got both of their attention. As she turned, whether it was a trick of the light or the speed with which she'd turned her head, Dani thought she saw the bow twitch on the girl's head but thought nothing of it. As for the explosion, well, people weren't running around in a panic, so it was probably some prank someone pulled before the semester had even begun. Dani turned back to the girl before her before asking sheepishly, "So do you have any idea where we're supposed to go? I'm completely lost."

The girl got up from the bench, putting her book away in one smooth motion, "It's not far. I was about to head over there anyway." Dani couldn't hide a smile. That had gone perfectly, as she had found a new friend and directions in one fell swoop

Dani fell in alongside this new girl, hoping to strike up another conversation about _Millennium Shadow._ "So you got a name? I'm Dani."

She gave a nod and answered, "Blake."

"Well Blake," Dani began, "Where exactly are you in _Shadows_ right now?"

* * *

 _ **Teal**_

Teal was not a happy camper at the moment. He was currently hiding out in a tree, holding his pistol _Temporal Shift_ in his hands, ready to fire at a moment's notice. Most people would find it ridiculous to be hiding out on the first day of school in a tree, but Teal was freaking out because he only saw silhouettes of people walking around, as though shadow people had taken over the school. He had stepped off the airship, as happy as one who'd made it into Beacon could be, and then he had taken stock of his surroundings. When all he saw were black silhouettes, he'd bolted for the nearest tree, camped out in its branches, ready to shoot anything that got too close. A legitimate strategy in his opinion. So there he was, watching and waiting for something to finally make sense around here. A small explosion off in the distance did nothing to reassure him.

' _Ooo, what's this?_ ' Teal thought to himself, perking up as he saw something in the crowd. _'Someone in color?! Gold's better than black, and it's a girl! Lucky me!'_

Observing her more closely, Teal could tell she was a brawler of some kind. A brown vest covering a yellow crop top, some kind of combat kilt around black shorts, even a nifty orange scarf. That seems to just scream 'fighter' to him. Her overall most prominent feature would have to be her long hair in Teal's opinion. _'As gold as a Super Saiyan,'_ he thought with a smirk.

Teal decided that since she wasn't a shadow person like the rest, things might be going back to normal. He hoped. He leapt out of the tree and landed smoothly in front of her, getting her attention and delivering the best pick up line he could thing of. "Are you a star because you brightened up my world." He grinned. _'Nailed it!'_

"Make a comment like that again and I'll black it out to match your blue," She said with a glare. Teal countered her glare with one of his own. It was an awkward stare down for several seconds before the glares dissolved into laughter.

' _So she's got a sense of humor, all she needs are terrible puns and she would be perfect dating material.'_ Teal thought to himself as the laughter died down. Once she stopped laughing, she held out a hand to him and said, "My name's Yang, you got one yourself Bluey?"

Teal snorted. "Oh how clever. Luckily, I don't make a big Teal about these things." He figured it wouldn't hurt to test her wits. Now to see how she handled herself.

Yang shrugged. "I don't know about you, but I always end those situations with quite the Yang." Teal had to check to make sure his jaw didn't drop. It hadn't, but it had certainly wanted to. _'She's perfect, by all definitions of the word. God could not come down and create anyone better for me, if he actually exists of course.'_

Before Teal could muster up a reply of any sorts, Yang pointed at the large building behind her and asked, "Do you think we could head over to the amphitheater before we continue? I've got to meet my sister there."

' _Oh yeah, we were supposed to go somewhere weren't we? You sort of forget these things when you're hiding in a tree.'_ Teal thought as he shrugged to cover his awkward silence. "Sure, I don't mind at all. Let's make like a tree and leaf."

Yang laughed. "You're unbe-leaf-able." The puns only got worse from there as the two meandered over towards the amphitheater.

* * *

 **Beacon Academy Amphitheater**

Crimson and Ruby entered the amphitheater (after following several other students who had known where they were going) together, Crimson looking up at the ceiling and observing the intriguing architecture. He had to hand it to those people who'd designed Beacon however many years ago, they sure knew what they were doing. "Wow."

"Wow is right," Ruby agreed, looking over the crowd of students. She could see weapons tucked away on everyone's person, and her dorky weapons side wanted to see what they could do. Before she could ask the first person however, a familiar voice got her attention.

"Ruby! Over here!" Ruby could never mistake the voice of Yang Xiao Long, her half-sister and saw that mane of golden blonde hair standing out amongst the colorful sea of students. "I saved you a spot!"

"Water you waiting for?" the boy next to her said, a cheeky grin plastered all over his face, however he seemed to look around in a nervous fright for some reason. Ruby didn't think he was one of Yang's friends from Signal Academy, but then again, she had her own group that she had been training with and having a blast. At least, until she stopped Torchwick and his robbery.

"She's gotta go with the flow," Yang said to him as she waved Ruby over.

Ruby didn't hear that exchange, but she got the gist of Yang's message. She turned to Crimson, who was still analyzing the structure. "Oh! Hey! I gotta go!"

"Come again?" Crimson started as he broke off looking around.

"I'll see you after the ceremony!" Ruby said quickly.

"Wait, what?" Crimson blinked and she was gone, lost in the crowd. _'She's certainly a swift one.'_ But he didn't mind being on his own. He preferred it, although surrounded as he was by all these prospective students, Crimson decided he was not the biggest fan of crowds. He made his way towards the back of the room, bumping into a girl wearing blue and silver who was weaving through the crowd after another girl in black and white, who had her nose in a book.

The girl in silver glared at him, blue eyes boring into Crimson's red eyes. "Watch it!" she snapped at him. The silver tips in her hair caught his attention for a second, but he maintained the stare down.

"You watch it," Crimson shot back, not in the mood for shenanigans. The girl held her glare for a moment longer before she turned and ran after her apparent friend. Crimson sighed. He was ready for this day to be over with so that he could get through initiation and classes. Anything to get out of this crowd.

Dani darted away from the crimson clad teenager she'd interacted with unwillingly and caught up with Blake. The monochromatically clad girl hadn't been the best of conversation partners, perfectly content to let Dani do all the talking. Dani didn't mind too much, she loved being able to talk about the _Shadows_ series with someone, and Blake said just enough to keep the conversation going, even though there were a couple of times that Dani thought that she was trying to convey a desire to be left alone. "So Blake, any other series you like to read?"

"Yup," came the short reply.

"Aaaaand?" Dani prompted. Surely she had noticed the hidden question.

"They're nice."

The Huntress in training was not amused. "Well what series is 'they'?"

Dani swore Blake was smirking ever so slightly, even though she couldn't see her face, buried as it was in her book. "Well, there's _Monster Ball_."

"Oh yeah, the one where the guy goes around catching creatures!" Dani said, glad to have something to work with. "I'm just tired of them teasing us as he gets so close to the top and then loses again."

"There's hope for book seven," Blake said simply.

"Maybe," Dani agreed solemnly. She glanced up towards the stage. No movement yet. She was hoping they'd start soon, as she'd heard about this Initiation that the students at Beacon had to go through. With the sun starting to sink towards the horizon, Dani hoped that it wasn't going to be at night. It wouldn't be a problem for her, but it just didn't seem fair to battle Grimm in the dark.

"Teal, this is my little sister Ruby," Yang said as said sibling slipped through the crowd in front of them. She didn't seem to notice her companion slowly trying to hide behind her back. _'The shadow people are back! Why am I ever the only one who sees them!?'_

"Hello," Ruby said simply, not sure what else to say.

Toning down his fright, Teal glanced from Yang, then to Ruby, then back to Yang, then back to Ruby. "Quite the family resemblance."

Yang shrugged. "I got my dad's genes, Ruby got her mom's, what can I say?"

"Are we still doing water puns?" Teal asked hopefully.

"Not in front of Ruby," Yang said warningly. "She hates that stuff."

"I do not!" Ruby protested, "They just aren't funny."

"But they sure are punny!" Teal laughed, which quickly died at Yang's glare.

"How's your first day going little sister?" Yang began, turning to her sister.

She did not look amused. "You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?"

"Well that's starting the day off with a bang," Teal quipped. "I like her already."

Yang was a bit more sympathetic. "Meltdown already? That's not like you sis."

"No!" Ruby nearly shouted. "I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice."

"Are you being sarcastic?" Yang asked, trying not to laugh.

"I don't think she is," Teal said, peering at Ruby. She wasn't a shadow person, nor was the girl in white behind her, which had Teal a little confused, a little concerned, and a little amused.

"I wish I was," Ruby snapped. "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me! And then I sneezed and then I exploded, and then she yelled again! And I felt really, REALLY bad and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"

"That crabby girl wouldn't be conveniently standing right behind you, would she?" Teal asked, pointing hesitantly over Ruby's shoulder. Ruby cringed and slowly turned around to see Weiss Schnee's angry blue eyes glaring right at her.

"You!" Weiss shouted, prompting Ruby to leap into Yang's arms, her big sister catching her reflexively.

"Oh God! It's happening again!" Ruby shouted, clinging to Yang, "Make it stop!" At this point, the red hooded girl couldn't help but think to herself, _'Where's Crimson when you need him!?'_

Teal turned away and appeared to be speaking to the air. "And this, boys and girls, is a classic Scooby Doo reference."

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Weiss snapped, ignoring Teal's ridiculous comment.

"Oh my God you really exploded," Yang said in a subdued tone. She let her sister down gently.

"It was an accident!" Ruby protested. "It was an accident!" Any further protests were cut off as Weiss held up a pamphlet titled _Dust for Dummies, and other Inadequate Individuals_. "What's this?"

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product," Weiss began, launching into her pre-practiced speech.

"I hate disclaimers," Teal commented dryly to Yang, who facepalmed at her new friend's shenanigans while Weiss continued the patented Schnee disclaimer and policy towards Dust users.

"Do you really want to start making things up to me?" Weiss asked, noting the dazed look in Ruby's eyes as the heiress had finished her speech. She shoved the pamphlet at Ruby, who grabbed it reflexively and nodded. "Read this and don't ever speak to me again."

"Look," Yang began, scratching the back of her head at the awkward situation. "Sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot."

"Understatement of the century," Teal muttered just loud enough for Yang to hear. A swift elbow to his gut from Yang silenced him quickly.

"Why don't you just start over and try to be friends?" Yang suggested hopefully. Normally she was the hothead getting into trouble, so a part of her was amused that the shoe was on the other foot. She just hoped it wouldn't become normal around here at Beacon.

Ruby turned and faced the still angry face of Weiss Schnee. She held out her hand to the heiress, saying "Great idea sis!" She cleared her throat quickly. "Hello Weiss! I'm Ruby! Wanna hang out? We could go shopping for school supplies!"

"Yeah, and we can paint our nails," Weiss said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "And try on clothes and talk about cute boys like tall," she glanced around for someone, a painfully forced smile on her face. "blonde and scraggly over there." The boy in armor that she had glanced at, as well as the blonde boy in purple talking with him looked up, curious as to why they'd been mentioned.

"Wow! Really?" Ruby asked, brightening up hopefully.

Teal snickered. "Sarcasm is not her strong suit, is it?"

Yang had to stifle a giggle. "No, it certainly is not."

Weiss was not amused and she dropped all pretenses of smiling. "No Ruby, not really." Any further lectured she was about to launch into was cut off by the sound of microphone feedback. Glancing up towards the raised stage, everyone saw Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch standing center stage with Ozpin behind the mic.

"I'll…keep this brief," Ozpin began as he adjusted his spectacles. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this. But your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take that first step." He glanced around the room, his wise brown eyes holding both joy and sadness. He saw people of all colors and sizes, yet he seemed to linger on the people in red attire in the crowd, which admittedly were few. "I bid you all good day, and look forward to you all slaying that first dragon of many tomorrows." With that he exited, stage right.

The murmurs of the students that traveled around the amphitheater was silenced when Professor Goodwitch stepped up to the microphone. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

"He seemed kinda…off," Yang commented.

"He's the Yoda of our school, he's allowed to be off," Teal pointed out, getting an eyeroll from Yang.

"But it was almost like he wasn't fully there," Ruby said, thoughtful about the Headmaster's speech. Any further discussion was stalled when the first of the two blondes Weiss had thumbed at during her sarcastic speech strode up and waved to get Weiss' attention.

"I'm a natural blonde, you know," he said, which caused Weiss to facepalm, Yang to gape, and Ruby to giggle.

"You idiot!" the second blonde haired boy, the one wearing the purple outfit and a bulky backpack called to his companion. "That's not how you get the girl to notice you!"

Further back into the amphitheater, Crimson stood against one of the many pillars that adorned the room. His gaze remained on Ozpin as he walked off the stage.

"Don't think that you have my trust, I have my eyes on you Ozpin."

* * *

 **And it's finally here, this story's first official chapter has been completed. Huge thanks to my Beta Reader, NuttyBuddy792.**

 **See you next time in Chapter 2: Accommodation.**

 **MaleficKing, Signing Off.**


	6. Chapter 2: Accommodation

" **The following is a fan-based fanfiction, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, please support the official release."**

* * *

 **The** **RWBY** **Chronicles:**

 **Team** CLST

 **Chapter 2- Accommodation**

* * *

Ozpin looked out from the balcony he had retreated to after his speech, observing all his new students. Considering the unique backgrounds of certain students, ranging from the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company to an amateur who had forged his transcripts, it was going to be a very interesting year. The students dressed in predominantly red colors intrigued him the most. Of course there was Pyrrha Nikos, a seemingly untouchable champion, as well as Ruby Rose, a combat prodigy he allowed to enter early and blessed with silver eyes, to say nothing of how she resembled her mother. He could only hope that she turned out just like her mother. Then there was the third…

Ozpin looked over to see Crimson glaring at him from across the amphitheater, obvious signs of distrust in the boy's eyes. He was curious as to how the young man would progress through the next four years. From what little information they had on Crimson, he was very proficient with the scythe, impressing him as much as Ruby had when reviewing footage of the attempted robbery by the infamous Roman Torchwick. The Beacon Headmaster was focused on a different talent of Crimson's, one he felt would be crucial in the days to come. When he had met with Crimson that morning, Ozpin had sensed some hostility from the teen. He still wasn't sure why Crimson had been so adamant against going to Beacon, whether it was some grudge or simply disliking the concept of leaving the mountain. However, all it took was one question for the teen to open up to the idea. Despite being the one to ask the question, even Ozpin was surprised.

 _ **"You don't know anything, do you?"**_

* * *

"I spent 5 God damn minutes giving you advice and you start with THAT!?" The shout of Laven Monsight drew several curious glances from the surrounding students, but the purple-clad teen couldn't care less as he swatted his new friend upside his head. To say that he was disgusted was an understatement. "Out of all the pickup lines, you go with that!?" He swatted Jaune upside the head again and gestured towards where Weiss had once been standing. "Well guess what! She's gone now!"

Yang glanced over at Teal, who had suddenly pulled out a bag of popcorn ("I'm always prepared for a show!"), and asked, "Do you think we should help at all?"

Her companion turned and mumbled around a mouthful of popcorn, "No way, this is way too entertaining to watch!" He swallowed and grinned at Yang. "It's like Tony Stark giving Bruce Banner dating tips."

Jaune ducked under a third swipe and finally retorted, "Well why don't you try if you think you're so good?"

Laven stopped to consider Jaune's challenge. He put a hand to his chin and closed his eyes in concentration, as if he were trying to solve a complex equation. Laven opened his eyes and met the curious gaze of both Ruby and Yang, "That's not a bad idea but unfortunately, neither of you are my type."

Ruby scratched the back of her head, confused, "I don't know whether I should be relieved or insulted." She decided on the former and let it go. It was the first day of school, she wasn't looking to get hit on anyways.

Yang, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow as she placed her hands on her hips. "And what exactly is your type?"

"I'll let you know when I see her," Laven replied as he began scanning the crowd of students, searching for the perfect target. He smirked as he spotted a girl dressed in silver and blue. As Laven made his way towards her, he made sure to check his breath and straightened his hair as best he could. Laven called out to her as he approached, getting her attention. "Hello my fair maiden, I am the ingenious inventor Laven Monsight of Infer. Who may you be?"

His target scowled at him and replied, "Not interested." With that, she strode off with her monochromatically dressed friend. Laven was stunned, a shattered look on his face while Yang and Teal laughed at his misfortune.

Ruby leaned over to Jaune, giggling. "Seems that he doesn't have as much skill as he thought."

Somehow he heard her comment and whirled around. "Shut up, that was just bad luck!" Laven indicated Jaune with a wave of his hand. "His idea of flirting is to just say how smooth the name 'Jaune Arc' is!"

Teal's eyes widened in surprise as he glanced at Jaune. "Wait, you mean like Joan of Arc right?" Jaune just looked at him as if he was crazy, which probably wasn't too far off. Teal on other hand, realized his mistake. "I've said too much!"

He instantly ran out of the amphitheater while using his Semblance to increase his speed, a blue glow appearing around his frame in the two seconds he was still visible. Wide-eyed, Yang leaned over to Ruby and commented, "And I thought you were a speedster!"

Ruby shrugged, still trying to piece together why Teal would freak out over such a simple comment. Whoever this Joan of Arc was, it must have meant a lot to him. She shrugged it off as first day jitters. "Maybe I'll race him someday to see who's faster. That'd be fun, right?"

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

Dani sighed in irritation as she left the Great Hall, her companion unable to hide a grin at her consternation. As happy as she was to be at Beacon, THE Beacon Academy, she'd been hoping not to attract the wrong kind of attention, which thanks to that overzealous blonde, didn't happen.

"I see you're becoming popular with the boys." Dani glanced over at her companion, who had pulled out her book and had her nose buried in it again, but the amused smirk she gave Dani told her she had been paying full attention to her recent interactions.

Dani rolled her eyes, not amused. "I didn't come here for the boys."

"Unlike the two behind us," Blake said dryly, tilting her head ever so slightly so that Dani's attention was drawn to a pair of giggling girls that were talking about something. Dani strained to hear without letting them know she was eavesdropping and heard "-and his ass is amazing!" before deciding to tune out just as quickly.

She snorted in amusement. "There are more important things to learn at this school than boys. I liked it better when we were talking about books. Let's go back to talking about those."

Blake chuckled. "Sure, should we talk about _Star-crossed Lovers_ or _Maiden and the Grimm_?" Despite her nose being buried in her book, all appearances pointing to her being a reclusive loner, Blake's current mood was anything but. Dani was passionate about books, but they really seemed to bring Blake out of her shell.

Dani facepalmed in annoyance. "Please no more romance stories! It's about as bad as when _Ninjas of Love_ was popular." She didn't notice the light blush that came across Blake's cheeks, as the monochromatically themed girl composed herself quickly. "How about that new one that just came out, _Grimm Island_? I heard that's getting good reviews."

Blake raised an eyebrow at that. "Isn't that based on a story with a focus on romance?" Her yellow eyes betrayed her amusement.

Nope, books weren't going to get Dani out of this one. In desperation, she looked around for something to change the flow of the conversation. Her distraction came in the form of several people entering into yet another of the many large buildings on campus.

"What are they all doing? I thought we were supposed go to the ballroom, and that doesn't look like place with a ballroom inside." Dani gave a glance towards Blake, who in turn gave a shrug, and they both proceeded towards the building.

Once inside, a quick glance around was more than enough to make Dani a very happy girl. The entrance hall was plain enough, but the sign with directions to the various gyms located within the building.

"This place has it all!" Dani gushed as she took a closer look at the holographic sign, an interactive display that was cycling through all the facilities available within the gym. "Aura enhancement chambers, training dummies, all sorts of workout machines, hell they even have a pool for underwater combat! Is that a simulation room too?! Yo, I'm definitely spending a lot of time here!"

Blake studied the images as though she were trying to memorize the layout. "They certainly seem to have thought of everything." The climbing chamber intrigued her ever so slightly, including what seemed to be the top three times. Depending on what was allowed, she was fairly certain she could give those records a run for their money.

Her silver and blue clad companion began to swipe through the hologram, prompting it to switch even faster through the facilities. "This is too cool!" Enraptured as she was discovering just what this building had to offer, Dani failed to notice the crowd of students moving away from the two of them. Fortunately, Blake was a little more observant

"Looks like everyone's headed for the locker room," Blake commented, snapping Dani out of her mesmerized gaze.

"Then let's check it out!" she said cheerfully, leading the way. Blake sighed, closing her book and following. The locker room was expansive, dozens and dozens of standard lockers lining all the walls. It was relatively Spartan, not that a locker room for several hundred students needed that much decoration.

Dani looked around and frowned. "So if we're given lockers to put away our stuff, then how do we know which ones are ours?".

"It's said on your student ID." Both Blake and Dani turned around to see it was another female student wearing bronze armor who spoke to them. With long hair as red as the autumn leaves, she was quite the striking figure, in top shape as evidenced by her toned body. Yet her green eyes had a kindness to them Dani didn't think was possible. Taking her advice, Dani checked her Standard Issue Scroll to see it did have a list of her student information. While most of the students already had Scrolls, everyone had to either get one provided by Beacon or have data uploaded onto them in order to carry them around the academy and be recognized by the computers.

Dani scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed laugh. "You'd think important stuff like that would be announced or something."

Blake glanced at her curiously. "They told everyone this when our Scrolls were being updated, weren't you paying attention?" The annoyed look Dani gave her answered that question.

The student who helped them laughed gently before saying, "It's alright, not everyone is on top of everything." Despite her attempts to lighten the mood, Dani still felt rather stupid for not knowing something so necessary.

Despite her discomfiture, Dani perked up and extended a hand towards her new potential friend, who somehow seemed familiar. "Thanks for the help, my name is Dani and this here is Blake."

"My name is Pyrrha, it's nice to meet you both," She said as she shook Dani's hand. The name registered in Dani's memory, and she finally put the pieces together with a gasp. The red hair, the bronze armor, how had she not noticed it before?! She'd only watched all the regional tournaments ever since she'd decided on becoming a Huntress. And here was the winner of the Mistral tournament four years straight!

Pyrrha paused, concern on her face. "Is something wrong?"

Dani had to hold back a squeak of excitement. "You're THE Pyrrha Nikos! Here at Beacon!"

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Blake deadpanned.

Dani ignored her. "Sorry, I just didn't think I'd ever get to meet you. We totally have to have a friendly match sometime, cuz I wanna see how I stack up!"

"Is that so?" Pyrrha said, a touch of awkwardness in her tone. "Well I'll be happy to have a match with you later on in the semester, so long as we have the spare time for it."

Dani's grin was from ear to ear. This was going to be a fun semester after all.

* * *

 **Later that night**

Laven Monsight was not amused. He'd emerged from the changing room and was preparing for sleep, and then Jaune walked up. The Infren native had changed into his sleep attire, which consisted of a lavender t-shirt, flame decals all over the shirt, and dark purple pajama pants, nothing too out of the ordinary. It was Jaune's outfit that was causing his eye to twitch.

"Jaune?" he began, unable to keep the ire out of his tone.

"What's up Laven?" Jaune asked as he walked towards his sleeping bag, trying to put that swagger in his step.

"First off, you can stop with the swag, you're not fooling anybody," Laven snapped. "Second, why the hell are you wearing a onesie with a rabbit on it? I thought you wanted to impress the ladies, not make them bust a gut laughing at you!"

Jaune was taken aback. "But it's Pumpkin Pete!"

"Like that's supposed to justify wearing something a five year old would wear willingly," Laven countered, "Do you not have a plain old t-shirt and some shorts or something?! Hell, I wouldn't mind you going shirtless, but of all the things to wear, a God damn onesie?!"

Jaune was sullen. "Well my sisters never made fun of me for it…"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we're not exactly surrounded by your sisters," Laven snapped. "I can already feel myself getting judged for being around you!" A glimpse of silver caught the corner of his eye.

Jaune saw her too, and he seized on the opportunity to change the subject. "Isn't that the girl who flat out rejected you earlier?"

Laven scowled. "You just had to bring that up." His scowl turned into a smirk rather quickly and he tried to smooth his hair down, but that was hopeless. Undaunted, he winked at Jaune. "I'll get her this time."

"And how, exactly, will you do that?" Jaune asked curiously.

"Just watch the expert at work," Laven replied, grinning. "Just not too closely, your onesie isn't exactly appropriate for this type of work."

"It's not that bad," Jaune muttered, but watched Laven approach the girl regardless.

The Infern native took a second to scope out his target. She was wearing azure pajama pants covered in little chibi silver dragons with glowing azure eyes paired with a white tank top, a dark silver dragon-like "S" emblazoned on the front. Not a bad combination for the eyes. She had a book in her hands, also a plus. Perhaps she was getting ahead in her studies. Laven was already set for the first month of classes, if the school curriculum was anything to go by. Then he saw the title, _Millennium Shadows: Dragonforce Five_ and sighed. Perhaps not. Still, the smile she had on her face was cute. She was sitting under the candlelight with another girl, this one in a black nightgown and also reading a book. He coughed gently to get her attention.

A part of Laven was mildly amused at how quickly her smile disappeared, though it wasn't an encouraging sign. "What do you want?" she snapped at him, glancing back at her book.

"Can't a fellow say hello to a fair maiden?" Laven asked smoothly.

"For starters, you can drop with the whole 'fair maiden' bit," she began, "Only one man is allowed to call me that, and you aren't him. Second, you obviously want to do more than say hello."

"Guilty as charged," Laven admitted with a little flourish of his hand.

"So I'll ask again, Mr. Monsight," the silver-clad young woman said, glaring at the Infren native. "What do you want?" Her blue eyes were dead serious, though Laven was glad to hear that she remembered his name.

Laven smiled at her. "A name will do for now, unless you changed your mind on 'fair maiden.'"

She snorted. "As if." She appeared to be thinking it over.

"It's only fair that you share yours since I shared mine," Laven prompted.

"You shared yours without me asking for it," she deadpanned. "I'm not some side chick to be wooed over with a few cheesy pickup lines."

A brown-haired boy with a blue streak in his hair and wearing simple teal pajama bottoms walked past. "You'll have better luck in Season 2 mate." There was a moment of dumbstruck silence, as the three of them watched the boy continue on, whistling some jaunty tune as he plopped down on a dark blue sleeping bag situated next to a blonde in black shorts with orange tank top and a smaller girl with rose pajamas and a black tank top.

"Well that was a thing," the girl with the bow commented dryly.

Laven decided to confront that boy later about what he said and got back to the task at hand. "Now then, your name please?"

The silver girl groaned. "Will you leave me alone if I tell you?"

"I'm not leaving without your name," Laven said simply.

She sighed. "It's Dani. Now leave me alone, I'm getting to the good part."

"As you wish," Laven said, unable to hide a smile. He had a name. That would be enough to work with for now. Time to retreat and figure out a proper strategy. He'd show Jaune just how suave he could be with the ladies. These things took time. Now to see what that boy was about. He remembered him from earlier. Laven strode up just as the smaller of his two female threw a pillow at the blonde, catching her in the face.

"It's only been one day," the blonde was saying after tossing the pillow back, much more gently than the other girl. "Trust me, you've got friends all around you. You just haven't met them yet."

"You never struck me as the philosophical type," Laven said, getting their attention.

"Oh hey you," the blonde said looking up at him, "You the guy who's all 'you're not my type.'"

"I only say things cause they're true," Laven said proudly.

"Or you're just an asshole," the boy said, glancing around for some reason.

Laven narrowed his eyes. "You."

His target pointed himself innocently. "Me?"

"Yes you," Laven said, "What was that all about with this 'Season 2'?"

"That's not important, just a little joke," the boy said quickly. "My name's Teal, what's yours?"

"Laven," the Infern native replied. "A pleasure I'm sure for you all to meet me."

"You thinking what I'm thinking Yang?" Teal asked his friend.

"Only if you're thinking about how long it'll take before he cries uncle when we start the best pillow fight ever," the blonde, Yang apparently, replied. She picked up a little corgi shaped pillow and fluffed it menacingly.

Laven held up his hands defensively. "I'd rather not."

The rose themed girl smiled. "You really don't wanna take on my sister in a pillow fight."

"Or a regular fight for that matter, right Ruby?" Yang said with a laugh.

"At least you're friendlier than those two over there," Laven commented, indicating the two girls reading by candlelight behind him.

"I'm sure they aren't so bad," Yang said with a glance in their direction, "You just started with a pickup line, which was stupid."

"I'd like to see you try and befriend her," Laven muttered.

"Challenge accepted," Yang said, grinning as she rose from her sleeping bag. "Come on Ruby, we're gonna get you plus two friends."

"What?! Wait! What are you doing?!" Ruby protested as Yang grabbed her arm and began to drag her over.

The sounds of a squirming Ruby got both bookworms' attention. "Hellllooooooo!" Yang sang with a wave.

"This is new," Dani commented dryly.

"I believe it's time you three got acquainted," Yang as she yanked her sister forward.

"Aren't you the girl that exploded?" Blake as she appraised the newcomers.

"I thought she'd be bigger," Dani commented. "At least anyone who explodes is normally pretty big."

"It's not my fault she was waving all that Dust around!" Ruby snapped. "But yeah, my name's Ruby." Both girls went back to their books. "But you can just call me Cra… actually just called me Ruby."

"Cute," Dani commented, putting down her book. "So why did you explode?"

"It was an accident! This crabby girl Weiss kept waving Dust around and I had to sneeze and because there was so much Dust in the air my sneeze made it go boom," Ruby explained quickly, looking rather sheepish.

Dani laughed. "Brilliant. Just brilliant." She looked behind them and her eyes narrowed at the sight of Laven. "Did he put you up to this?"

"Who, Laven?" Yang asked, looking back. Laven appeared to have struck up a conversation with Teal "Well, kinda sorta, but we're not helping him. I'm helping my little sister here make some more friends. My name's Yang, what's yours?"

"I'm Dani, and the silent one is Blake," the silver clad girl responded, indicating her friend with a nod. Blake rolled her eyes.

"Well I gotta admit, those pants are cool," Yang continued, "All the dragons!"

"Thanks," Dani said, glancing down. She touched one of the dragons with a glowing finger and when she moved her hand, the eyes on the dragon were glowing brightly. "They light up too."

"That is so cool!" Ruby said, kneeling down and poking one of the dragons. "Glow in the dark pajamas! How'd you do that glowing finger trick? Your Semblance?"

"Yup!" Dani said, holding up a finger and a small ball of light appearing at the tip of her silver fingernails. "Light manipulation." She flicked the ball at Ruby and it burst into several sparkles before fading. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my book. It was a pleasure meeting you two." Ruby blinked several times, trying to get the sparkles out of her vision.

"Well if that's what you want," Yang said, turning to leave.

"What's it about?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm?"

"Your book. Does it have a name?"

Dani was intrigued by this sudden query. "You ever hear of the _Millennium Shadows_ series?" When Ruby shook her head, she sighed before continuing. "Well this is the third in the series, this one about a group of people connected by these special birthmarks."

"Real lovely," Yang said, obviously not interested.

"I love books," Ruby said. "Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters, they're one of the reasons why I want to be a Huntress."

"And why is that?" Blake asked suddenly, looking up, "Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

"Well, I'm hoping we all will," Ruby replied. She looked out the window at the full moon hanging in the night sky. "As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books, as someone who fought for what was right and who protected people who couldn't protect themselves."

"That's very ambitious for a child," Blake noted, "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

"Ain't that the truth," Dani said bitterly, an unpleasant memory coming to her mind. "Just gotta do what you can to keep this world from going out of control."

Ruby smiled. "Well, that's why we're here. To make it better."

Yang couldn't contain herself. "Ooo, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" She glomped Ruby in a bear hug.

"Cut it out!" Ruby snapped as she tussled with Yang.

Dani and Blake shared a glance. "Part of me is glad I'm an only child," Dani noted.

"Ruby, Yang," Blake began in an effort to not attract all sorts of unwanted attention. "Really, you don't have to-"

"What in the world is going on over here?!" a piercing voice asked. Yang and Ruby froze, Ruby holding onto one of Yang's legs in an awkward position.

Dani looked up at this newcomer. Long hair as white as snow, blue nightgown, and an apparent attitude as well. She noted the scar over her left eye, and wondered if it was from actual combat or from a violin accident. "Oh boy."

"Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?!" the newcomer demanded, then realized who she was talking to. "OH NOT YOU AGAIN!" She shouted with Yang, who stepped forward as she recognized her.

Dani shared another glance with Blake. "I take it this is the infamous Weiss they were talking about."

"Oh how cute, you were talking about me behind my back," Weiss snapped, hands on her hips.

"Weiss Schnee, Heiress of the biggest Dust company in Remnant," Blake whispered to Dani, not in the mood to draw the ire of the heiress. "and yes, she apparently has the attitude the size of her company."

Dani snickered. "Lovely."

"We weren't talking about you behind your back!" Ruby said quickly, looking very apologetic. "It just so happened that little incident came up."

"Where you nearly blew us off the side of the cliff, how could I possibly forget?" Weiss said with a glare.

"I said I was sorry!" Ruby said.

"What's your problem with my sister?!" Yang demanded, "She's only trying to be nice!"

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss shot back.

"Oy, rich girl," Dani said, getting her attention. "If she's so hazardous, why the hell are you over here?"

Weiss seemed rather incensed. "Well someone has to stop all this noise! People are trying to sleep!"

"I'm trying to read actually," Dani quipped, unable to hold back a grin. "You're making more noise than these two were with all your whining."

Weiss scoffed. "I do NOT whine! I am merely using a tone that is appropriate for putting two immature girls such as these in their place."

"Ok rich girl, whatever lets you sleep at night," Dani grunted. "You've stopped the noise, now will you leave us alone?"

"I will," Weiss snapped, "Because obviously you people aren't worth my time." She stomped off as Blake picked up the candlestick.

"I'll make it worth her time when I give her a black eye," Dani growled, sending a glare after Weiss. "Some people, I swear!" She looked up at Ruby. "Why'd you have to explode on her?"

"I wasn't trying to!" Ruby said quickly. Blake blew the candles out and the room descended into darkness, the only source of light coming from the moon outside, which was enough for those with good eyesight to barely see the other. The room lit up again as Dani created a small ball of light in her hand.

"Could you at least let me finish the chapter Blake?" she asked, getting a laugh out of the other three girls.

 **Half an Hour later**

Crimson stood outside at the edge of a balcony, staring at the full moon shining along with the stars. It was moments like these where he felt most at peace, without any pests like the Grimm to bother him. He glanced behind him for a moment, looking into the now dark ballroom. Crimson had noticed that all of the students inside the ballroom wore a different type of clothing than before and no longer possessed any of their weapons. It was rather curious to him, this form of sleepwear, if he was guessing correctly. Crimson himself still wore the same clothes and carried his trusty _Grimmlock,_ having only removed his grey cape and his black jacket in preparation for sleep.

So far, Beacon has done nothing to impress him, it was just a strange place with strange people. Tomorrow would be Initiation, so there might be some fun to be had when that happened, though Crimson had overheard that students were to be sorted into teams of four, which displeased him greatly. If fact, it outright infuriated him the more he thought about it. He was a loner and worked best alone.

"It's bad enough I have to deal with all of these imbeciles but now I'm forced to work with them too? I'm starting to miss the Grimm, at least I could kill them to relieve the stress." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down before he blew a blood vessel. That's all this day has been, stress. Going to a new location and encountering idiotic people, these all were going to take time to get used to. So far the only thing that hadn't worsened his temper was when he encountered-

"Hey there Crimson!"

The sudden presence of another person caused Crimson to quickly open his eyes and turn towards the rapidly-becoming familiar girl. Unsure of what to do, Crimson responded, "Hello Rose, what's the occasion?" He had wanted to remain alone for the rest of the night but it looked like Ruby wasn't giving him that luxury. The strange feeling from before was still there, albeit not nearly as intense as when they first met but it still lingered in the back of his mind.

She gave him a nervous smile, taking notice of Crimson's weapon, before continuing, "I saw you out here and wanted to know how you were doing. Shouldn't you be getting ready to sleep?"

Crimson noticed that she herself had changed her appearance, swapping her combat clothes for a black sleeveless shirt and white rose patterned pants. Admittedly he missed the hood, liking its red color. He shrugged. "Being around a crowd of strangers doesn't make me feel comfortable, so I'm staying out here. Considering what's gonna happen tomorrow, I'd rather be prepared. How about you, why are you out here?"

Ruby pointed at a blonde haired girl who was snoring into her pillow, "I couldn't sleep with my sister Yang's snoring so I came out for some fresh air, that and her new friend constantly sleep talks. When I saw you I figured we could talk or something to make up for me kind of abandoning you earlier." She looked at him sheepishly. "I really am sorry about that."

Crimson grunted before turning his attention back towards the moon, getting himself lost in its white beauty. Speaking of white...

"So I heard the screeching of that white harpy earlier, Whine or something. Did you have anything to do with that?" He distinctly remembered her voice from that morning echoing throughout the ballroom, which was not pleasing to Crimson's ears.

Ruby looked a bit confused before blushing in embarrassment as she realized who he was referring to. "Oh you mean Weiss, yeah I might have been involved. You see, me and Yang were making a bit of noise and Weiss came over to tell us to stop and she was being really mean and this girl Dani and my sister were getting mad at her and then she left and things calmed down real quick after that."

The red haired teen chuckled. "Sounds like she wasn't too much of a pain. I assume you're prepared for Initiation? With all the buildup, there'll probably be a big challenge of some sort."

A smirk grew on her face, "You bet I am! Anything they through at me will be no match for Crescent Rose. And hey, if we play our cards right we could be on the same team. I can see it now, the unstoppable scythe tag team. I'm so exci-." Before she could finish rambling, Ruby was cut off by a loud yawn and rubbed her eyes. "excited," she finished.

Crimson could feel the drowsiness setting in and decided to call it a night, "Not that it's bad to listen to your excitement but I think it's in our best interests to rest for the night, wouldn't you say?"

Ruby sighed. "Yeah you're right. Well, see you tomorrow."

Crimson briefly waved his hand as Ruby walked away, wondering why she insisted on approaching him not once, but twice now, and by the looks of it she'd be approaching him in the future too. He categorized it as a question for later. The teen gave one last glance at the moon before laying down on his discarded cape to sleep.

But he didn't notice the moon faintly shine a blood red…

* * *

 **This came out a lot longer than I intended, so I hope you all enjoyed this. As always, huge thanks to my Beta Reader, NuttyBuddy792.**

 **See you next time in Chapter 3: A Hop, Skip, Crash, and Burn.**

 **MaleficKing, Signing Off.**


	7. Chapter 3: A Hop, Skip, Crash, and Burn

" **The following is a fan-based fanfiction, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, please support the official release."**

* * *

 **The** **RWBY** **Chronicles:**

 **Team** CLST

 **Chapter 3 – A Hop, Skip, Crash, and Burn**

* * *

Crimson was surprised to learn he wasn't the first one awake in the ballroom. Life on Mountain Glenn had taught him the wisdom of getting up early, usually at the crack of dawn if he wasn't hurt. He didn't mind it though, as it meant fewer irritants to deal with. There were a few however that were managing to get on his nerves, which was something he really didn't want to deal with first thing in the morning.

While most of those that were awake were too drowsy to do much other than stand and walk, there was one hyperactive girl in pink pajamas speaking rather loudly to a much more relaxed boy in green. Given the normally quiet atmosphere, her voice was extremely hard to ignore and it was giving Crimson a headache. Thankfully, Rose was still asleep, so that was one less interaction he'd have to deal with for the time being. He wasn't minding her as much as the others, but Crimson was a loner. The fewer people he talked to, the better.

Crimson noticed that several students who had gotten dressed for the day already were heading towards the building next door. Not wanting to be caught out of place in case that was part of Initiation, Crimson followed, avoiding curious glances from some and already wishing the day was over. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that this was where the school served food.

"Good," Crimson noted, observing the lined tables and the buffet set up along the back wall. "Nice to know Ozpin won't let us go hungry before Initiation." Seeing that people were waiting in a line for their food, he decided to join them. He walked up to the buffet, curious as to what was causing those lovely odors.

"Get in line like the rest of us," a bulky teen in armor snapped at him, sliding past with a plate in hand.

Glancing back, Crimson realized that there was indeed a line that students were forming, growing longer by the second as more students, some of whom were still half asleep, filed into the cafeteria. It was too early in the morning to get into trouble fighting another student. Something about that student rubbed Crimson the wrong way, but he remained silent, not wanting to waste energy before Initiation began. It wasn't worth it. He merely gave the teen a glare before retreating to the end of the line, getting there before a large group of students filed in.

To Crimson's misfortune, that same chatterbox from earlier was right behind him. She was still talking rapidly to the young man in green beside her, who didn't seem bothered one bit by the idle babble from the redheaded girl. Crimson, on the other hand, was already sick of hearing about how they'd been "friends for soooooo long". He pinched the brow of his nose, trying to ignore her, grabbing a plate and freezing as he got a good look at the buffet line.

Having lived on Mountain Glenn, food was whatever was edible. Crimson knew at least three ways to skin a rabbit, he knew just what kinds of mushrooms were great for eating and which were poisonous. He'd even scrounged a few MREs from the ruins of the city, few and far between enough that Crimson considered them more a luxury than a necessity. Despite that, he had no clue what half these food items were and had no idea what he should pick from the selection of food before his eyes.

Crimson would've stood there for quite a while had it not been for a plate stacked with flat, round and fluffy cakes of some sort being placed in front of him. He looked to see the holder is the young man from earlier, dressed in a dark green tailcoat with black and gold trimmings, pink cuffs completing his ensemble. He spoke calmly, as if holding a wisdom beyond his years, "If there are too many choices, sometimes it's best to go with something simple."

Crimson, not really having a choice without holding up the line any longer than he'd already had, decided to accept the stranger's offering and also added a small bowl filled with a white granulated substance to his tray. Glancing behind the green-clad teen, Crimson could see his companion stacking a large number of the similar cakes offered to Crimson, having changed out of her pink pajamas into a white sleeveless top combined with a collared black vest and a bright pink skirt.

Crimson found an empty table and sat down in silence, only small noises of chatter from the other students traveled through the room. His rescuer sat across from him and duck into his own food, not making any idle conversation much to Crimson's satisfaction. Yet, despite the enjoyable silence, Crimson couldn't resist the compulsion to talk to this calm fellow.

"So, who are you anyway? You seem quite fine with leaving your friend alone over there." Crimson questioned, gesturing to the girl still in line.

The teen chuckled, "My name's Lie Ren, and I'm sure Nora will be fine for a few minutes by herself."

Crimson merely grunted as he observed Ren eat his food, pouring a thick brown substance on it and utilizing the table supplied utensils. Looking to fit in, Crimson mimicked his movements, cutting the weird flat cakes in front of him, covering them with the same brown substance as Ren passed him the bottle, and hesitantly taking a bite. Crimson gagged, disgusted by the overwhelming sweetness of these cakes.

He didn't bother hiding his disgust, though he barely managed to swallow that bite. Ren glanced at him, mild amusement on his features. "I take it you're not a fan of pancakes?"

Crimson glared at the aforementioned pancakes and pushed the plate away. "I've never tasted something with such an overwhelming flavor, why is it so…sweet?"

Ren peered at Crimson, confused by the question. He glanced at the syrup bottle. "I think that would be the added sugar."

"Added what?" Crimson had never bothered to know exactly what he had eaten before. So long as it was edible, he hadn't really cared about the flavor, but he had never had anything that sweet before. He'd have to make it a habit of learning what he was going to eat before he put it into his mouth.

Ren was surprisingly quick on the uptake, realizing Crimson had little knowledge of the modern world from his mannerisms and appearance. "It's something people put into foods in order to increase the flavor, namely the sweetness. If that's not to your forte, then you may find the rice more suitable for your tastes."

Crimson nodded at Ren's advice and sampled a bit of the bowl of white rice he had swiped. Bland, tasteless, filling, just how he wanted it. Unfortunately, given the small size of the bowl, Crimson finished it within a minute. He considered going back to line to get more, but opted not to when he saw the line had more than quadrupled in size since he'd sat down. Speaking of people in line…

"Hey Ren, sorry I took so long! They didn't have enough pancakes for me, so I had to wait for some more." Ren's friend, Nora, suddenly appeared in the seat next to Ren, placing down a plate stacked high with pancakes in front of her. Her appearance was so surprising that Crimson almost brought out _Grimmlock_ on reflex. "Anyway, what were we talking about Ren?"

Ren sighed. "I'm handsome but not in a "together" together way."

Nora shoved a pancake in her mouth, mumbling around it, "Right, what was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together." She slurped up her food and was about to continue when she took notice of the awkward teen next to her childhood friend.

"I see you're already making friends! What's your name and want to help get me and Ren on the same team?" She shouted excitedly, practically leaping across the table to get a closer look at Crimson.

Crimson blinked, unsure of how to respond. "Uhhh…"

Ren, noticing his discomfort, decided to speak up, "You never did tell me your name, if you wouldn't mind?"

Crimson sighed and stood up to leave. "It's Crimson, maybe we'll come across each other in Initiation." On that final note, Crimson walked away without another word. Ren and Nora glanced at each other awkwardly before focusing their attention on their food.

"I think you scared him off," Ren said dryly before continuing on his pancake.

"Me?! Don't be silly!" Nora mumbled around the two pancakes she shoved into her mouth. "It was obviously your charming personality."

Ren rolled his eyes. "Sure it was."

* * *

"So Lodestar Academy had tests involving a one-on-one with a Grimm, you think they'll do something like that here too?" Dani was excited. It was Initiation day. She'd been delighted to discover that Beacon provided a wide variety of breakfasts, including her favorite. Although French toast probably wasn't the best meal to have before combat, it was a comfort item that helped her relax, despite the upcoming battle against…whatever it was they had to do. After eating a hearty breakfast, she'd found Blake on the way to the lockers as they began to gear up for combat. After some idle conversation about the books they'd read the previous night, Dani had turned the subject onto the big one; Initiation.

Blake grabbed her _Gambol Shroud_ from the locker and attached it to her hip. "Given that Beacon is the 'next step', they'll probably have something more complicated than what you saw at your Combat School."

Dani nodded, rubbing her chin as she thought of the possible scenarios. Since they were being formed into teams for this, maybe the task would involve cooperation to take down a Grimm. But it was also possible that they wouldn't be paired up until after Initiation, evaluating the skills of each of the students before setting them up together. Either way, they'd all find out what would happen when it happened. Closing her locker, Dani turned to Blake. "You think we'll be able to meet up with Pyrrha?"

Her bow-wearing friend made her way towards the exit. "Maybe, but I think we should go straight to the cliffs so we don't waste any more time."

The silver teen sighed. She really wanted to spend more time with both of her newly made friends. Once they'd gotten past the whole "meeting a famous person" thing, they actually had a lot of fun just talking to each other. Pyrrha didn't have a lot of time for books, what with sponsorships and training and the life of a superstar taking up all her time At least there was a chance for them to be on the same team, however small that chance was, and even then it wasn't like inter-team interactions were forbidden. "You're right, it would've been nice though." Dani placed the twin batons of _Agjotr Spitfyre_ in their holsters on her thighs, savoring the reassuring feeling of her weapon.

Blake shrugged. "You can't always get what you want."

"I think it'd be cool if we were on a team together," Dani said, changing the subject as they left the locker room. Talking about potential teammates was another way for Dani to keep her nerves in check. "Though I don't know how they go about it. I doubt we get to pick our teammates, but if we did, I'd say Pyrrha is a definite want."

Blake glanced at her. "But since she's so popular, everyone will probably be gunning to be on her team."

"True," Dani conceded, "So I'll just have to be quick about it."

"How about those two girls from last night, Ruby and Yang?" Blake asked, grinning a little as she recalled their shenanigans from the night before.

Dani rubbed the back of her head. "Yang is certainly spirited. She definitely looks like she can handle herself in a fight. It's her sister that I don't really have a feel for. Ruby seems okay. However, doesn't she seem a little too 'innocent' to be going into the Huntress business?"

Her companion shrugged. "I think it's better to see how she performs rather than judging her upfront, don't you think?"

Dani smiled. "Yeah, you're right. Never judge a book by its cover, I hear it all the time. Now that I think about it, I'll probably be good teaming up with just about anyone." She grimaced as she recalled a few individuals she had to deal with yesterday. "Anyone except for that spoiled brat and arrogant prick. I feel sorry for anyone who has to team up with them."

* * *

" **ACHOO!"**

Teal looked over to the red-hooded girl and said, "Gesundheit. Someone must be foreshadowing."

Ruby rubbed her nose, trying to hold back a sniffle. "Tha-" She blinked as she tried to comprehend Teal's second statement. "Wait what?"

In response, Teal merely whistled cheerily. Currently the two of them, along with Yang and Laven, were at the locker room getting their weapons and preparing for whatever combat Initiation held. Ruby, deciding it was simpler to ignore the teen's weird shenanigans, held up _Crescent Rose_ from her locker and started to giggle to herself.

"What's got you so happy today, excited for Initiation?" Yang asked, noticing her sister's antics.

Ruby gave the blonde a sideways glance, "Unlike yesterday, I don't have to do any awkward small talk or 'getting to know you' stuff. I just have to let my precious sweetheart do the talking." She held up the compact form of her weapon, caressing it like a mother would a child.

Laven looked exasperated as he peered over his locker door at Ruby. "You do know that this will be a team exercise right? No matter what, you're gonna have to get to know new people." Both sisters gave him a small glare at his attitude while Teal rolled his eyes.

"You do know Dani won't like you if you keep acting like that," Teal advised, "I would tell you to just act natural, but that'd probably insult her."

Laven growled as he turned his glare to Teal. "You think you're quite the comedian, don't you?" With that, Laven slammed his locker shut and stomped off.

Ruby looked slightly concerned and asked Teal, "Is he alright?"

Teal shrugged. "He's irritable because Dani blew him off again this morning at breakfast. I think the constant rejection is starting to affect his pride or something." He looked towards the ceiling, thoughtful. "Although he was a lot calmer when he woke up. He started getting angry once I offered my advice. I wonder what set him off…"

Yang decided to let the oblivious teen figure out the answer for himself and caught Ruby's gaze. "Despite how he said it, Laven isn't wrong. You're gonna have to meet with new people and make new friends. It's a part of growing up."

Ruby pointed an angry finger at Yang. "First off, what does getting to know people have to do with fighting? Second, I already made a new friend so there! And third, I don't need people to help me grow up, I drink milk!" Teal was unable to hold back a snicker at that last statement.

Yang was about to retort when she registered what her sister just said, "You made a new friend already? Wait, do you mean that guy you were with at the amphitheater?"

Ruby nodded triumphantly. "That's right! Crimson and I will be the best tag-team the world has ever seen, just you wait! Two scythe users against the world!" She posed, _Crescent Rose_ in hand.

Yang grinned, thinking about the obvious implications of Ruby meeting a new boy. "Barely your first day in Beacon Academy and you're already leaving your 'Weapon-Only' phase, my baby sister is growing up so fast!" She swept up the red-hooded girl in another bone crushing hug, getting a surprised squeak out of her sister.

Confused by her sister's antics, Ruby gave a pained look to Teal who solemnly said, "Don't worry, you'll learn the ways of a fanbase eventually."

The moment was broken by a sudden yelp and they all looked to the other end of the room. They saw that the culprit was Jaune, having been pinned to the wall via a spear through his hood. Yang's eyes narrowed as she saw Weiss stride past him, looking very relieved for some reason. She figured Jaune had tried flirting once again, having overheard his 'snow-angel' comment shortly before Ruby had sneezed.

Once they got to him, the young woman who had pinned him had yanked the spear out of the wall, offering a hasty "I'm sorry" to Jaune before leaving.

Ruby helped Jaune to his feet. "Where did I go wrong?" he groaned.

Teal smirked at him. "Did you try to play lady-killer again? You know Laven has terrible advice."

"That and Snow Angel probably wasn't the best start." Yang told Jaune, unable to hold back a small smile at Jaune's attempts of flirting with Weiss.

The only answer Jaune had to offer was a groan. Before any more could be said, an announcement was made through the loud speakers. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for Initiation. Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately!"

"Sounds like our cue for the next scene!" Teal quipped, darting out the locker room. Ruby and Yang shared a confused glance with Jaune.

"You sure know how to find them sis," Ruby said simply. She supported the dazed Jaune. "Come on Jaune, let's go."

* * *

It was a beautiful day at Beacon Academy. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, the temperature was lovely for an early autumn day, and there was a small breeze that ruffled the hair of all present. The first-year students were lined up on white tiles on the side of a cliff, Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch standing in front of them at the edge of said cliff. Most of the students were eager to begin, though some were showing signs of nervousness. One student in particular appeared completely disinterested in the whole event.

After waiting a few minutes for the students to settle, Ozpin spoke. "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." He looked to Goodwitch.

The Head of Beacon Combat Training stepped forward. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates...today."

Crimson scoffed. "Shocking." His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Ignoring the annoyed teen's remark, Ozpin continued. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Dani and Blake glanced at each other, the former giving a thumbs up. If all went well, they'd be partners before the day was done.

Ozpin's next statement put a bit of a damper on that. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

If Laven had been drinking something then, he would have definitely spat it out. "What kind of un-systematic bullshit is that!? You mean we're paired up through sheer dumb luck!?"

At first glance it seemed like Ozpin was ignoring Laven's outburst, but the amused look in the old man's eyes said otherwise. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die." The tension was a lot more palpable after that statement.

Teal raised an eyebrow before turning to Yang on his right. "He's…He's kidding right?"

"He doesn't look like he's kidding," Yang replied, "Now shh." This response caused Teal to pout.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin looked over each of the first years, satisfied with his speech.

Jaune slowly raised his hand, slightly shaking. "Um, sir?"

Ozpin appeared not to have heard him. "Good! Now, take your positions."

Teal laughed. "I'm loving this headmaster already, he's like Dumbledore as a troll…well, MORE of a troll." His musings were interrupted when he noticed that several others were being catapulted into the forest "…Oh. Oh shit…" Teal quickly turned towards Ozpin, frantic. "Mister-Ozpin-Man-Sir please, with all due respect, maybe it'd be better if we just walked into the forest or took a Bullhead safely into it or even-…"

He looked to see that everyone on his left was already gone and swallowed nervously. "...I'm scared of heights…" The platform unceremoniously launched Teal screaming into the air. Ozpin smirked as he sipped his coffee.

* * *

While several people were panicking about their mid-air flight, Laven remained calm. This was going to be fun. He smiled as he moved his sleeve and pressed a button on a hidden watch, causing _No Space_ to open its sides and activate boosters similar to those on a hover jet. He heard the whizz of a weapon in the air and saw a bright red and yellow spear go flying off into the distance. It wasn't aimed at him, judging by how far it had missed, which made Laven idly wonder who had thrown it and why. He shrugged, focusing on slowing his fall. A quick series of bursts of his boosters, carefully timed, helped accomplish that task.

While Laven was still falling, he was now moving at a far slower speed, giving him time to think about his next course of action. "Let's see, who should I partner with? I could look for Dani, but that's a bit more forward than I want, she's going to need a much more subtle approach. Maybe I should look for Jaune. That goof probably got caught in a tree and needs my help." He sighed. "Ozpin and his crazy method of forming teams, just absolute madness."

Laven lost his train of thought when he heard screaming directly behind him. He barely had any time to react as Teal barreled into him, the sudden change in direction causing Laven's boosters to send them falling towards the ground. Laven was about to yell at the scared comedian until he noticed several of his Fire Dust Crystals that were supposed to be contained in _No Space_ falling with the two of them.

"…Son of a bitch…"

The explosion when they landed was spectacular.

* * *

Ruby landed on the ground softly, _Crescent Rose_ already on her back. No time to take in her surroundings, she activated her Semblance and took off running through the trees. Her thoughts were racing. _'Gotta find Crimson. Gotta find Crimson gotta find! Of course, finding Yang would be awesome too. But still, I really wanna team up with the only other scythe user in this school. Come on guys, where are you?'_

"Crimson!?" she called, looking around for any sign of the crimson scythe-wielder. "Yang!?" There was no response from the trees, not that Ruby really expected any. There was a loud explosion a ways off to her left, and Ruby figured she'd give that a shot. Yang was always great at making large explosions. She burst into the newly created and still smoldering clearing to see Teal and Laven on the ground, stunned and charred.

"Either of you two see Yang or Crimson?" she asked quickly, knowing that those two were already partners thanks to Ozpin's rules.

"No, I couldn't see anything thanks to this idiot crashing into me!" Laven snarled, shaking himself.

Teal brushed the soot off his clothes. "Ruby, you should know by now you're not going to find the person you want to pair up with in these scenarios. Try that direction though, Laven said that was where most of the others were going to land anyways." He pointed westwards, a little ways off from Ruby's original path.

"Thanks!" Ruby shouted, taking off and not bothering to stick around for Laven's extra comment. If those two had already found a partner, then her chances of finding Yang or Crimson were dwindling by the second. _'Oh this is bad, this is really bad! What if I can't find them? What if someone finds them first? What if they find each other first?!'_ A part of her realized Teal was right, and she was probably not going to find Yang or Crimson in time. She was still going to be upset if Yang found Crimson before she did. Ruby began to consider other options. She sighed as she realized there weren't many. _'There's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny. I don't think he's very good in a fight.'_ She'd seen Jaune's pajamas, which were cute and all, but the way he handled himself in that pillow fight wasn't very encouraging. _'Ooo! Blake! She's so mysterious and calm, and she likes books! I don't think I'd be able to have a conversation with her though. Then there's Dani! She also likes books, and she's really cool with that light Semblance of hers. Yeah, she'd be alright. Still, who else do I know in this school that's still available? There's Crimson, Blake, Jaune, Yang, aaaand-'_ her thoughts were interrupted as a person appeared in her vision. She skidded to a halt in front of this person dressed in white. Thigh-length strapless dress covered by a bell sleeved bolero, both white as snow and fading to pale blue in certain areas, Ruby looked up to make eye contact with the one person she knew that she'd hoped she wouldn't have partnered up with. Weiss Schnee looked at Ruby, eyes narrowing at the sight of the young Huntress in training.

"No," Weiss said simply, turning around and walking deeper into the woods.

"Wait!" Ruby called, taking two steps forward in pursuit. "Where are you going?!" She stopped and sighed, shoulders slumping. "We're supposed to be teammates." She didn't like it, but they were Ozpin's rules, and she wasn't going to break the rules just because of a little bad luck. Ruby just didn't know what to do.

Weiss continued forward, eager to put that little red nincompoop behind her. How that kid got into Beacon, she didn't know, but she'd be damned if she didn't get someone better than her. She was Weiss Schnee, after all, she deserved the best partner at the best school. Movement caught her attention and she looked up to see Jaune Arc, pinned to a tree by Pyrrha's spear. Typical. The loudmouth must have tried flirting with Pyrrha like the time he had with her and Pyrrha hadn't wanted any of it. Weiss sighed as Jaune chuckled nervously. Given her two options, and the multitude of Grimm wandering this forest, she hoped that Ruby was some sort of combat prodigy, as that would justify her getting into Beacon at an earlier age than most.

"By no means does this make us friends," she snapped as she grabbed Ruby's hood, startling the scythe-wielder.

"You came back!" Ruby shouted, elated. She had a partner. Sure, it was someone that didn't actually want to be her partner, but it was better than being alone. Ruby hoped that she could win Weiss over, ignoring their explosive beginning.

"Hey wait!" Jaune shouted, seeing the two leave from his vantage point. "Come back! Who's gonna get me down from here?"

A voice from below got his attention. "Jaune?" He looked down to see Pyrrha standing before him, a small smile on her face. "Do you have any spots left on your team?" Her amusement was nearly tangible.

"Very funny," Jaune said, not all that amused as he crossed his arms, trying to maintain some air of dignity, as much as one could maintain while pinned to a tree by his hood. His gaze was drawn down to Pyrrha again, who had giggled just a little at his faux dignity. She smiled back at him.

"Let's get you down from there," she said simply, glad to have this opportunity to have a friend who saw her as just a person, not a superstar.

* * *

Dani activated the twin halberds of _Agjotr Spitfyre_ , holding them out wide as impromptu wings while airborne. She angled her body towards the trees, looking to get through an opening in the treetops. Dani enjoyed times like this, where all she had to worry about was getting to the ground safely. The freefalling chamber at Lodestar Academy was a great way for students to practice their landing strategy. The key was slowing down enough so that one's Aura could easily take the hit, and that meant not landing at terminal velocity. With that in mind, Dani extended her arms forward, using both halberds to latch onto a thick tree branch. She spinning around it a couple of times like a gymnast on the uneven bars, letting her forward momentum slow to the point where she could release her hold on the tree branch and flip several times in the air before landing in a three-point stance on the ground, a perfect landing strategy in her mind. She kept an eye out for any Grimm as she made her way towards Blake's direction, having seen the general direction that the monochromatic teen had been launched.

She stopped once she heard the concussive sound of explosions behind her, indicating someone was in a fight. While she had already seen a larger explosion while falling, these explosions were on the ground and close by. Abandoning her plan to find Blake, she hurried to go help whoever was in trouble. The sounds were gradually growing less frequent, even as she got closer to those sounds. Dani's sprint stopped as she emerged into a clearing, an impressive sight before her eyes. She saw various disintegrating pieces of Grimm scattered all around and a cloaked figure standing beside a single Beowolf, the Grimm struggling to get away from its tormentor, despite both its legs lying mangled and broken.

The figure proceeded to step on the Grimm's head, crushing its skull. Then the dark red cloak moved in the wind, revealing the figure to be the spike-haired Crimson. As Dani stepped forward the clearing, Crimson threw her a glare, shouldering his scythe. Despite having stared down various Grimm, Dani couldn't suppress a shudder at how cold the boy's eyes were.

She took a deep breath. Rules were rules, after all. He seemed very competent, judging by the remaining wisps of darkness that used to be Grimm. "So I guess we're partners now. My name's Dani." She holstered _Agjotr Spitfyre_ , trying to send good vibes towards this new ally. First impressions always mattered, as a Huntress and as a person in general.

Dani waited for a response but all Crimson did was turn around and walk away, not giving her a second glance. Annoyed, Dani quickly followed. "Hey! Where are you going?!"

Crimson looked over his shoulder at her, irritation in his eyes. "My name is Crimson, now shut up and let's go." With that, he entered the forest, not even bothering to see if she was keeping up.

Dani frowned. That was definitely not what she had been hoping for. "You've got to be kidding me! This is my partner for the next four years?" she grumbled. Despite that, she followed him. She could only hope that their rocky start in their relationship would get better as they trudged along. What she didn't know was that Crimson's only goal was to complete Initiation and destroy as many Grimm as he could find.

* * *

 **Once again, thanks to my Beta Reader, NuttyBuddy792.**

 **See you next time in Chapter 4: Double Dragons**

 **MaleficKing, Signing Off**


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